MIT has always been a patsy for the Harvard lacrosse team, but this is getting ridiculous. Yesterday afternoon, the Crimson stickmen humiliated the Engineers, 27-0, setting a new Harvard scoring record in the process.
The laxmen have now defeated MIT for the mythical Cambridge championship 16 years in a row. In recent seasons, Harvard has made a habit of going into the MIT game with a record of something like 0-8 and then picking on the Engineers for its first win.
But thins are a little different this year. For the first time since 1971, the Crimson lacrosse squad is headed toward a winning season, and MIT is fielding a poor team even by MIT standards. This wasn't a game; It was a shooting gallery.
The Engineers were in the game for exactly eight minutes and 27 seconds. That's how long it took Harvard to get warmed up and score the first goal.
At the end of one quarter, Harvard had outshot the Engineers, 11-2, and outscored them, 4-0. In the second stanza, MIT had no shots at all and the Crimson ran the lead to 11-0. The Engineers were without a shot again in the third quarter, and Harvard roared out to a 20-0 lead.
The hapless losers managed three shots in the final frame, but no goals. The closest they came was in the final minutes, when Engineer goalie Jeff Singer fired a Gilman clear--a full-field pass--into the Harvard end. The ball eluded Crimson netminder Ken First and rolled into the crease. An MIT attackman struggled furiously in the mud to shovel the ball into the net, but First got it first, diving back into the goal mouth and clamping the ball with his stick.
When the contest finally came to a merciful end, Harvard had outshot the losers, 67-5, won 26 of the 31 faceoffs, and scooped up 104 of the 128 groundballs.
The Crimson's leading scorer was middie Kevin McCall, who scored six goals, five in the first half. He was supported by Billy, Tennis, Stevie Martin, and Dailey Kennedy, with four tallies each. First and Jim Michelson each manned the nets for a half and combined the shutout.
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