PRINCETON, N.J.--The leaning tower of hope came crumbling down on top of the Harvard lacrosse team Saturday, as the Princeton Tigers took the Crimson's dream of an Ivy championship and post-season play and transformed it into a nightmare of denial and deprivation here at Poe Field.

The Tigers dealt Harvard an 11-9 defeat, all but destroying the Crimson's bid for NCAA tournament play later this spring. Harvard still can win the New England championship by beating UMass in a game rescheduled for May 8 at Harvard.

Princeton controlled the tempo of the game, despite a few lapses in the first half, overcoming the rain and muddy turf with greater success than Harvard.

Juniors Boota deButts and Bob Thomas dodged for three goals each to lead all Princeton scorers. Thomas scored the game-winner at 6:54 of the fourth quarter, slipping past Harvard defenseman Frank Prezioso. After Harvard's Mike Faught made it 10-9, Princeton's Peter Matthews iced the win by cutting past Matt Fee at 12:08.

The Princeton players benefited from mud cleats, which the Harvard squad lacked. "We all changed our cleats at the end of the first period," Thomas said.

Overall, it was simply a matter of Princeton taking it to Harvard from beginning to end. The Tiger offense controlled the ball deliberately, methodically implementing its cutter systems and hitting the open man.

Princeton applied its greatest pressure to the strength of the Crimson--the defense. As a result of Princeton's offensive attack, the Harvard players had difficulty sliding to back up and often completely lost their footing as the Tigers drove to the goal. Also, Princeton used a special ride to counter the excellent clearing ability of Harvard defenders Haywood Miller, Prezioso, and substitute starter Mac DeCamp--who played for an injured Scott Pink.

"We used a new ride that depends on a lot of hustling. We brought in three fresh guys off the bench for the ride, "Princeton goalie Tom Gray said after the game. "It was a three-three ride."

The Tigers challenged Crimson goalie Kenny First and the defense at mid-line, forcing the defensive unit to make pinpoint passes.

With the added pressure on the Harvard clear, the Crimson failed to spring its awesome fastbreak more than four times in the contest. As a result, the Harvard offense had to rely on a dodging game.

"Our game plan was to dodge," junior midfielder Dave Wigglesworth, who scored two goals and played with the most hustle of any Harvard player, said.

Jamie Egasti, Faught, Norman Forbush and Gordie Nelson--playing despite a rib injury--regularly isolated their defenders with mixed results. Faught nailed three goals, all excellent shots, while Forbush tallied one. Egasti and Nelson were shut out.

Princeton goalie Gray was the stopper for the Tigers, making 17 saves, no less than five of which were spectacular.

"Gray was super. I can't say enough about him," Princeton co-captain Matthews said.

However, Harvard made Gray look better than he actually was. The Crimson took weak, off-balance shots time after time, as the Harvard offense lacked the patience to work for the good shot.

"We were rushing it all game," Wigglesworth said.

So, the Crimson shot the ball at Gray and into his stick. That error, along with the lack of proper shoes and the rainy conditions, cost the Crimson dearly.