HARVARD: Scalise has an exceedingly young but talented squad that has looked ragged so far this season. But with a solid effort in the close loss to Penn, and the 12-0 burst that destroyed B.C. Wednesday night, the team seems to be finding itself.
And now is just in time, because Harvard must face Brown and Cornell in the next five days. If the stickmen are going to make any noise this year, they had better start today.
BROWN: In 1976, Brown lost the New England Championship to UMass, 15-10, and the Ivy League title to Cornell, 10-5, but won all but one of the rest of its games to make the NCAA tourney.
Since then, however, six of the seven Bruin laxmen who earned All-Ivy mention last year have graduated, and Stevenson's inexperienced squad has struggled so far this year, going 2-2.
Sophomore attackman Jon Meister, the third brother to play at Brown in recent years, has emerged as this year's big gun.
The Brown squad that visits Cambridge today is not as good as the one that edged Harvard last season in Providence, and this time the Crimson has both the home advantage and the revenge factor on its side.
DARTMOUTH: Nine freshmen earned letters for the Big Green last year while Dartmouth was going 7-5 against a weak schedule for its first winning season in more than a decade.
Attackman Jeff Hickey and Steve O'Neill, dangerous as rookies, should be even better this year. Four different players have been bidding for the goalie job; freshman Charlie Moore, a high school teammate of Harvard's Mike Ward, is currently getting the nod.
The only Ivy League team the Crimson has managed to beat each of the last two years, Dartmouth, is still clearly a step behind the best five teams in the loop, but it is a dark horse capable of pulling off an upset along the way. Harvard travels to Hanover on May 14, hoping that won't be the day it happens.
Yale Has No Talent
YALE: The Elis went 0-6 in the league last spring, and lost most of what little talent they did have to graduation. The only strong point should be the defense, where goalie John Sager returns with two solid defensemen, Mike Burns and Brad Gano, playing in front o him.
Harvard wasted Yale in New Heaven last year, 14-6, and should have an even easier time of it this year back in Cambridge on April 23.
Just as it has every year since the late '60s, this season's Ivy chase boils down to "Can anybody beat Cornell?" The Big Red is the clear favorite again this spring, and any of four squads--Penn, Princeton, Harvard or Brown--could emerge as the leading challenger.
Based on their 11-9 triumph over Harvard and impressive, undefeated play outside the conference, the Quakers get the early nod as Best of the Rest. Today's contest, Harvard vs. Brown, will be another step toward unscrambling the many contenders.