Keep hope alive.

After yesterday's 11-10 road victory over New Hampshire (4-7) at Cowell Stadium, the men's lacrosse team (4-6, overall, 1-2 Ivy) is three wins away from its first winning season in years.

"It was a good win for us, and hopefully it will turn us around for the last games of the season," sophomore attacker Mike Eckert said. Eckert led the Crimson with four assists on the day.

After giving up two quick goals at the outset, the Crimson settled down and established a lead it relinquished but once.

At 10:51, sophomore midfielder Chris Wojcik tallied to tie the game, 2-2. Three minutes into the second period, he gave the Crimson the lead, scoring an unassisted goal.

Midway through the second stanza, the Crimson opened up a comfortable 6-3 margin on goals by juniors Jamie Ames and Steve Geffen.

Normally, a three-goal lead would have sufficed against the mediocre Wildcats, whom the Crimson crushed last year. But 80 degree heat and few substitutions took its toll on the team.

"Fatigue in the second half hurt us, especially at midfield," Eckert said, "and we let them creep back in."

The Wildcats rallied in the third and fourth periods, scoring three of four goals in a matter of ten minutes, to notch the score at ten.

But Harvard would not be denied. With 6:06 left in the game, Eckert fed the ball to Ames, who promptly deposited it in the net for the win, 11-10.

Freshman Robert Lyng kept the Wildcats at Bay throughout the game with 16 saves.