This season, the Harvard men's lacrosse team faces a number of tough questions. And in the squad's season opener against C.W. Post today at 1 p.m. at Ohiri Field, the Crimson is going to have to begin to answer them.

Last year, Harvard rose to the top of the NCAA polls, peaking as high as number three. The Crimson's unprecedented rise to prominence ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament, when North Carolina prevailed, 18-3, in Chapel Hill, NC. All season long the Crimson had turned near-losses into dramatic victories.

But last year was also the year of the seniors, including scoring sensation Dave Kramer--who netted over 50 goals--and defenders Chris Bentley and Mike Murhpy. Now, with six top players lost to graduation, the Crimson is working feverishly to rebuild its team.

"We've lost so much," Co-Captain Mick Cavouti said. "This will be the first real test of what our offense has to offer.

Against the Pioneers last year, Kramer led the assault, pumping in five goals and engineering the Crimson's come-from-behind 13-10 win. But now, some other attackman must power the Crimson offense.

"We have to fill in for Kramer," Co-Captain Tim Reilly said. "We have to find a 50-goal scorer...whether it's one of us, or all of us."

Cavouti would be the obvious candidate to fill the scoring void. Three years ago, Cavouti was one of the nation's top recruits. Last year, the Mather House resident tallied 48 points.

The strength of the Crimson assault will rely primarily on its ability to control the tempo of the game. Last year,. Post thrived on unsettled situations, scoring most of its points off the fast-break. The laxmen need to control posession of the ball by outhustling the aggressive Pioneers. And Harvard will look to sophomore Chad Prusmack to win face-offs and gain possession of the ball.

Harvard Coach Scott Anderson has implemented a new "wide-2" offense this year in an attempt to free up the Crimson's game. Anderson hopes that it will spread out the Harvard attack and, ultimately, create more one-on-one opportunities.

But the "wide-2" also relies on each player knowing where the other players are moving on the field, and anticipating their cuts. It relies on team chemistry. And, there again, the Crimson is faced with another tough question.

"We've really been working a lot with the first team to get the chemistry that's needed," Cavouti said. "We need to get used to the movement."

By maintaining a settled six-on-six offense, the Crimson hopes their defense can shut down the Pioneer offense.

Though they suffered through an abyssmal 0-13 season last year, Post played against virtually every major lacrosse powerhouse, including NCAA finalists Loyola and Syracuse, and have undoubtedly learned from the experience. They have also drawn several local Long Island recruits, and are led by all-purpose, all-dominant Adam Lederer.

With the loss of Bentley and Murphy, many wonder how the Crimson's restructured defense will fare in its first substantial test.

In their scrimmage against Club STX last Sunday, the Crimson defenders dominated the opposing attack, and junior goaltender Chris Miller provided impressive protection in the net. Miller, a starter for the past two seasons, will again be called on today to anchor the Crimson defense.

Above all, the Crimson realizes that today's game is their first true test.

With inclement weather limiting its outdoor practice time and Ivy regulations restricting the number of scrimmages, the Crimson is still struggling with numerous questions.