It was colder than any reasonable April afternoon had a right to be, and the varsity wasted three solid quarters before warming to its task. But Harvard still beat M.I.T. 9-5 on the Engineers ridiculous playing field yesterday. Sloppy passing, abysmal officiating, and freezing temperatures all contributed to what Coach Bruce Munro called a "terrible concatenation of mistakes."

Playing on M.I.T.'s oddly marked dirt field, the Crimson opened the contest with two quick goals. Lou Williams scored first on a pass from "Tink" Gunnoe after just 55 seconds of action. "Tink" Leroy added another moments later, and Harvard seemed headed for another classic romp like last year's 15-3 win.

Tech Takes Lead

The Tech men didn't take a single shot during the first seven minutes but compensated by scoring on their first excursion into Crimson territory. Holding the varsity scoreless, the enlightened Engineers added two more tallies in the second period to take a surprising 3-2 halftime lead.

The sun came out for the third period, but Harvard refused to thaw. Collecting four of twelve game penalties for cross-checking, slashing, and roughing, the varsity let their inspired opponents dominate play until they had two more goals and a 5-3 lead. Dick Ames added the varsity's fourth goal in the closing moments of the period.

Stickmen Get Hot

But if Munro's stickmen failed to impress anyone for most of the afternoon, they were more than marvelous in those final 15 minutes. The varsity pumped home five straight markers while goalie Jim Weir and the Crimson's defensive trio held the Engineers.

Joey Prahl opened the Crimson's finale with a hard shot from 20 feet out. Lou Williams put Harvard back in the lead at 4:32 with his second goal, and a flashy Gunnoe-to-Ames combination two minutes later insured the varsity win.

Williams Scores on Solo

Anxious to wipe out the memory of those first 45 minutes, the Crimson out-hustled, out-shot, and out-scored the Engineer ten in the closing minutes. Shooting from the left side of the nets, sophomore midfielder Bruce Caputo scored his first varsity goal at 11:07. Lou Williams added the varsity's ninth on a solo dash that covered half the field. It was the big Junior's third tally and his sixth of the season.

The Crimson took 33 shots in the come from-behind conquest and scored three markers on extra man plays. The contest also featured some of the worst refereeing seen in New England for some time.