Nobody expected the Harvard lacrosse team to do well this year, so it was no surprise when they limped through the season to a 4-9 final record.

The most promising feature of the team was the new coach, Bob Scalese, a former All-American at Brown University. Scalese, who doubles as an assistant coach for the soccer team, quickly earned a reputation as a slave driver. If nothing else, and there was little else, the lacrosse team was in fine physical condition.

Doing 50 push ups, however, is not an instant formula for success.

Victories this year were not a common occurrence. Williams, Dartmouth, Boston College and MIT were the only teams to come up on the short side of the scoreboard against Harvard.

The one game the laxmen thought for sure was theirs was the Yale game, against a team that bears the notoriety of being even worse than Harvard's. Yet the Crimson lost that one in triple overtime after squandering a two-goal lead.

Odds Against Them

The lacrosse team did not have a successful season, but then it did have a lot of things working against it. Tough competition, inexperienced players and the problems of working under a new coaching system hampered this year's team.