HAMILTON, N.Y.--He is the guardian of the fortress. He is the last man. He is the bullet-proof jacket.

Yesterday afternoon here, Wayne Cowley, Colgate goalie, was the last frontier.

Beyond him lay Harvard's seventh straight victory and unquestioned supremacy in the East Coast Athletic Conference. Beyond him lay Harvard's ninth straight win at Starr Rink. Beyond him lay a collection of rare jewels, diamonds even, glove-fulls.

Only Harvard didn't get beyond him.

Yesterday, Cowley--last season's second-team ECAC goalie--picked up 37 saves and allowed only one goal to lead Colgate to a 4-1 triumph over Harvard.

Colgate had not beaten Harvard in four years. Colgate had never beaten Harvard at home.

"Wayne came up with big saves," Red RaiderCoach Terry Slater said.

Harvard scored its only goal late in the secondperiod on a C.J. Young shot on the power play.Before and after, Cowley was perfect. And Harvardis no longer perfect.

"It's not the end of the world," Harvard CoachBill Cleary said. "If we thought we were going tobe undefeated, we'd be dreamers. Colgate playedwell, and their goalie beat us."

Cowley, a long-haired Canadian, changed manyCrimson shots. The Crimson gave him 100 percent,and he gave back peanuts.

With 13 mintutes left in the third period, PeteCiavaglia swiped a puck at the mid-line and brokedown the right side of the ice. He went one-on-onewith Colwey, trying to jam the puck past him intothe right corner of the cage.

Cowley shoved his glove over and batted awaythe puck.

"It seems like that turned the game around,"Cowley said. "We could have gone home with aloss."

Instead, Harvard fell for the first time allyear. A single Colgate player. A single Harvardloss. Sometimes hockey works that way.

"I don't want to take anything away from myteam, I think they played well," Slater said. "ButWayne kept us in. You've got to make five or sixbig saves in a game. And Wayne made them."