"I'll try to do my best and forget about the pressure," Miller said. "People have been saying that you can't be a freshman in goal, with the guys all relying on you behind the defense. You've got to come across as confident."
Anchoring the defense will be Michael Murphy, Andy Barnard, Peter Long and former midfielder Chris Bentley. Three freshmen--David Murphy (Michael's brother), Michael Kramer (David's brother) and Peter Welch--will also get a lot of playing time on this inexperienced unit.
"Last year, we started with the premise that our defense was strong enough to keep us in the game until our offense got untracked," Anderson said. "This year, with our experienced leadership on offense, we're going to have to score some goals."
The defense had an auspicious start on Saturday, as Miller's 12 saves paced a 8-4 early-season victory over C.W. Post. The "experienced leadership on offense" came through as well, with Griffith, Cavuoti and Garvey scoring two goals each.
Harvard Crew
Experienced leadership notwith standing, it has been the underclassmen who have led the team Coach: Scott Anderson Captains: Robert Griffith, Steve Lux Last Year: (11-4, 4-2) 1989 Record: (1-0, 0-0) Home Games: Soldier's Field The Schedule
March Sat, 18 at Cornell 1:00 p.m. Wed, 22 at College 7:00 p.m. Sat, 25 ARMY 1:00 p.m.
April Sat, 1 PENNSYLVANIA 1:00 p.m. Wed, 5 at Vermont 3:00 p.m. Wed, 12 at St, John's 3:30 p.m. Sat, 15 at Adelphi 2:00 p.m. Wed, 19 BROWN 3:00 p.m. Sat, 22 at Princeton 2:00 p.m. Wed, 26 MASSACHUSETTS 3:00 p.m. Sat, 29 YALE 2:00 p.m.
May Wed, 3 NEW HAMPSHIRE 3:00 p.m. Sat, 13 at Dartmouth 1:00 p.m. in another long-standing Harvard lacrossetradition: the preseason crewcut.
"The freshmen and sophomores have been goodabout it," Griffith said. "The seniors are goingon job interviews. We're looking for the juniorclass to come through. I think they might beslacking a bit."
A little class conflict on the squad? Notreally, according to Anderson.
"I like it. They're trying to reinforce thatthey care enough about lacrosse to make an effort.It's contagious," he said.
But what about you, coach?
"I'll think about it."
Aw, Coach. You said you liked it. AssistantCoach Tim Pendergast did it. Come on, everyone'sdoing it.
"I guess if they win their first four or five,I might," Anderson admitted.
If the Crimson cannot repeat last year'ssuccess, no one can claim it's because of lack ofincentive