BALTIMORE, Md.--The Harvard men's lacrosse team shot themselves in the foot yesterday, en route to losing 23-12 to the blitzkrieg attack of the University of Virginia. The Cavaliers played a strong game, but the Crimson was clearly not at its best.

During the post-game interviews, Harvard coach Scott Anderson summed up the day well.

"I think that was a very good team that played a very good game today," Anderson said. "I think we are a good team that didn't play as well as we are capable of today, and that creates the large margin."

"We were a little too revved-up, a little too excited about being there," he said.

From the beginning, the inexperience of the Crimson squad showed as they made uncharacteristic errors.

"We weren't afraid of anybody," sophomore Mike Ferrucci said.

The over-excitement Anderson alluded to resulted in offsides, careless losses of possession and unnecessary penalties for the Crimson. Perhaps Virginia's only fault on the day was that it also took a lot of penalties.

"I have been happy all year with the effort and pride that the kids demonstrated," Anderson said. "The more experience you have with playoffs, the easier it is to put all of the distractions of the crowd and the hype behind you."

"You don't fault kids for caring too much," he said.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, who never led in the game, the team had little playoff experience. The order of the day thus became playing catch-up.

"You can't let a team like this get up on you early," Ferrucci said.

However, that is exactly what happened. From 11:06 in the first quarter to 4:04 in the second, Harvard was held scoreless. In the meantime, UVA netted eight unanswered goals.

As the first quarter ended, Virginia had taken an 8-2 lead. By halftime, it was 15-6 in the Cavalier's favor.

Virginia's go-to players were in top form. With superstar Doug Knight (5 goals) flying across the crease and his wingman Tim Whiteley (2 goals, 6 assists) continually getting him the ball, the Cavalier attack was practically unstoppable.

Virginia coach Dom Starsia said he was very pleased with his team after the game.