Powered by the one-two scoring punch of midfielders Dave Wigglesworth and Mike Davis, the Crimson crunched Cornell, 12-8, in front of a capacity crowd at Harvard's Business School field, avenging a string of 10 straight losses to the Big Red.

Between them, Wigglesworth and Davis notched seven goals, including four tallies during an eight-goal Harvard barrage in the second and third periods. Down 7-4 before this startling attack, the Crimson kept the Big Red goalie off guard with a steady stream of groundshots.

Cornell's Woody Jay pushed a garbage shot past Crimson netminder John Lechner at 1:39 to start the game rolling, and from there the polished passing of Cornell midfield ace Norm Engelke carried the Big Red to a 5-4 lead for the first period.

When play opened again Wade Bollinger, the other dependable link in the Big Red midfield, controlled play and seemed able to lead the visitors to a romp.

But the holes closed up for the Cornell attackmen and a tightly ordered Crimson defense went to work. The line of Haywood Miller, Scott Pink and Frank Prezioso snuffed out the the Cornell firebrands with ease.

Two years of playing side by side allowed Miller, Pink and Prezioso to read each other's minds and those of the opposing offense. The Crimson scooped up 60 ground balls to Cornell's 45, establishing clear superiority on the recoveries.

Interfering

With the opportunities before them, the Harvard midfield dared to challenge the Cornell defense. At 6:30 into the second period, Davis fed Wigglesworth with another pass-on-the-run play. Cornell, playing with only one midfield line, lost the race to the goal when the fresher Wigglesworth fired another bullet into the net.

Meanwhile, Lechner made 22 saves, while only Joe Taylor snuck one into the Crimson goal. Lechner put together his third consecutive airtight showing. Although he lacks regular season experience, Lechner shows no signs of rough edges.

"Last year our defense was neck and neck with Cornell's and despite some changes on their line, they are still tough. I'd have to say that Lechner is the difference. These three games, he's come into his own and secured our defense," co-captain Peter Predun said yesterday.

The only final period scoring came from the now-desperate Big Red. At 4:57 in period four Cornell scratched its way to that long-awaited eighth goal when Bollinger jetted one into the twines.

The effort came too late and the Crimson waltzed off with its Ivy opener and a 2-1 mark on the season.