In five days last week, the varsity lacrosse team encountered and whipped five teams, and established itself as one of the outstanding lacrosse teams in the nation. Victims of the powerful Crimson onslaught were CCNY, Hofstra, Rutgers, the Boston Lacrosse Club, and a combined Oxford-Cambridge team currently touring the United States.
The varsity unleashed its attack last Tuesday by handing CCNY a 23-2 defeat in New York. Amid manhole covers and broken glass, the varsity literally ran the opposition raggged in a game that looked Crimson from the first face-off.
Attack Dave Bohn led the scoring spree with six goals, followed by Pete Sieglaff with five, and Captain Tadhg Sweeney and Grady Watts with three apiece. Watts also had three assists before leaving the contest half-way through the second period with knee trouble. Although offering little competition, the game gave Coach Bruce Munro a chance to empty his bench on the first day of the trip.
Second Victory
After the game, the players drove out to Long Island, where they defeated Hofstra 18-6 the following day. Bohn, Watts, and Sieglaff continued to register heavily in the scoring column, joined by Woody Spruance, the third attack with Watts and Bohn. Spruance threw four into the nets and assisted on a fifth. Although the contest looked close at first, the varsity rapidly pulled ahead, and Munro emptied the bench for the second time.
Thursday at Rutgers, the varsity ran into its first real competition, but finally won, 14 to 11, in overtime. Playing before an enthusiastic crowd, the varsity was behind only once in a game that was dead-locked at 11-11 at the final gun.
In the first of the two five-minute over-time periods, Bohn converted a pass from Watts into the tie-breaking goal, his fifth for the afternoon. In the second overtime period Sieglaff scored his third, assisted by Sweeney, and Watts scored alone for his second goal. Watts also assisted on eight goals that afternoon, a singular performance--the 5 ft., 8 in, 150 pound attack was always closely covered and often doubleteamed.
Friday afternoon, after a tiring return trip from Rutgers, the varsity defeated the Boston Lacrosse Club 15-12 on the Business School Field in a disorganized, sometimes sloppily-played contest.
The varsity finished the week in an Anglo-American vein, defeating a combined team of Oxford-Cambridge players on the Business School flats. After one period of play before a large, shivering crowd, the score was tied at two goals apices. Spruance scored both goals for the Crimson.
At 1:52 of the second period, Spruance passed to midfielder Gil Bamford for the varsity's third score, soon followed by Sweeney from Watts and Bohn from Bamford combinations. With the score now 5-2, Sieglaff came in unassisted twice in succession, to make it Harvard 7, Oxford-Cambridge 2, and an altogether different ballgame. Watts rounded out the quarter unassisted at 14:33.
By the time it was all over, the Crimson had run the score up to 17, compared to 11 for the Englishmen. Bohn led the Crimson with five goals, followed by Sieglaff with four, Spruance with three, and Watts and Sweeney with two each.
The Crimson will encounter MIT away on Wednesday in what should prove to be number six in the victory series, followed by what may prove a more bother-some game at Cornell Saturday. If the varsity comes out unscarred, it may well be because it's beginning to be the great team some people are talking about.
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