Harvard men's lacrosse Coach Bob Scalise's disciplined half-field offense brought home more than half a victory for the Crimson on Saturday.
In fact, through 56 minutes of play in Garden City, N.J., the laxmen led Adelphi, 14-11.
But no record book will show how the Crimson held the hosts under control for most of the contest. Instead, they will show that the host Adelphi squad used its strength and a seemingly haphazard fast-breaking offense to regain the momentum and turn the three-goal defecit into a three-goal victory. 17-14.
The loss left the Harvard laxmen shocked that the hosts were able to engineer such a stunning comeback.
"Last year (when the Crimson triumphed, 16-10) they would have given up," said Harvard attackman Chris Pujols.
But the 1984 Adelphi squad wasn't prepared to let Saturday's game become history, even with just six minutes to go. Its transition offense, which has keyed Adelphi's victories, kicked in and left the laxmen looking for the answers to its first loss in five games.
The slowdown, wait-for-a-good-chance Harvard offense, which has keyed the Crimson's attack season, never got an opportunity to really go to work in the second half, with Adelphi winning almost all the face-offs in the second half and certainly all of them down the stretch.
The Crimson (now 7-6) may have lost some of the momentum of its four-game winning skein, but otherwise would appear in good shape to wrest the number-one raking in New England away from UMass with a victory over Dartmouth at home on Saturday. In the latest poll, the laxmen were ranked a single vote behind the Minutemen, who Harvard beat earlier this season at Amherst.
Further, both the Crimson and Brown have topped UMass, while the Crimson laxmen have just a single loss in the region--to Yale.
THE NOTEBOOK: Multiple scorers for the Crimson Saturday were Rob Hawley and Tim McCaffrey with three. Pujols and peter Fellows with two apiece...Adelphi is also 7-6...Saturday's game is set for 2 p.m. on Ohiri field. Goals H. Rob Hawley 3. Tim McCaffrey 3. Peter Follows 2. Chris Pujois 2. Rufus Clark, Tom Corcoran, Martin Garcia, Jamie Wright, A. Dave Sweeney 4. Mike Fee 2. Todd Lawson 2. Pat Badoiato 2. Bob Quinn 2. Bill Teresky, Gary Biohm, Joe LaCascio, Jon Wiliams, Dan Dunn. Assists H. Hawley 3. Follows 2. Garcia, Pujois, Ed Athanasien, Rob Hurlbut, A. Joe Bayem 3. Lawson 2. Teresky 2. Biohm, Badoiato. Saves H. Mike Bergmann 9. A. Brian McQuilan 8. Mike Nelson 8.
Read more in Sports
ROLEX RESULTS
