Three of the lacrosse team's injured, captain Tom Nicosia, Phil Zuckerman, and Pete Barber, will return to action as Harvard hosts Penn in its Ivy opener at 2:30 p.m. today.

The Crimson has been plagued with injuries since the southern trip, and is still without the services of goalie Kirby Wilcox and Sam McDowell. "In our condition, I would call the game a toss-up," said coach Bruce Munro.

Harvard won a dissatisfying game at M.I.T. 12-11, Wednesday, but the next two days of practice were very encouraging. "Today's practice was the best one for some time," Munro noted yesterday. Harvard has been working particularly hard on coordinating the attack and midfield.

Barber will be playing in place of sophomore Bill Bennett. Barber's experience should be a factor in improving the performance of the defensive unit. Nicosia will team with Bob Johnson and Rick Frisbie on a strong second midfield line. Munro is praying that the injuries won't act up again today in contact, and that the team's fine showing in practices won't vanish under game conditions.

Penn is 4-3 overall so far. The Quaker's only Ivy game was against Yale last week. The Elis played a strong game to set back Penn in a close contest, 10-7. Mark Boeing has been the top scorer for coach Ave Blake's team.