Picking up right where it left off, the Harvard men's lacrosse team, ranked sixth in the nation, rolled to its seventh consecutive win, as it defeated Ivy League rival Dartmouth 13-10 on a rain-soaked Ohiri Field on Saturday.

The win secured Harvard a bid to the NCAA Lacrosse Championship tournament. Harvard was seeded 11th in the twelve-team tournament and will face sixth-seeded Hofstra next Saturday at Cornell.

The Crimson (10-2 overall, 5-1 Ivy) drew first blood in its final regular season game when sophomore Jim Bevilacqua scored to take an early 1-0 lead over the Big Green (6-6, 2-4).

But unlike some of the less experienced squads Harvard has recently faced, the hardened Dartmouth team battled right back. Capitalizing on a Crimson turnover, the Big Green scored an equalizing goal half way into the first-quarter.

After a momentary lull in the action, Harvard regained the lead off another goal from Bevilacqua and a score from senior co-captain Chris Wojcik, who took advantage of a Dartmouth turnover.

Just before the end of a first quarter most memorable for both teams' sloppy play, Dartmouth narrowed the lead to one goal when junior Scott Hapgood scored for the Big Green.

Though the rain and poor field conditions were responsible for many of the team's errors, Harvard lacked sharpness in its level of play early on.

"I think we've got to pick it up a little bit, as evidenced today. We came out a little sluggish," senior co-captain Pat Marvin said.

At the onset of the second quarter, Bevilacqua score the third goal of what would be a four-goal performance to widen the Crimson's lead.

The two teams then traded goals until halftime, when Harvard went into the locker room clinging to a one-goal lead.

Though both teams scored two goals apiece, Dartmouth dominated the majority of the second quarter. The Big Green was hurt by its failure to maximize its scoring opportunities. Dartmouth attackmen missed at least four solid chances to score.

"We have a lot to work on, especially on defense," senior defender Matt Sheerin said of the team's poor performance in preventing scoring opportunities.

Harvard started the second half on a higher level than it had played on in the first.

Within 30 seconds, the Crimson scored two goals. But Dartmouth again struck back when sophomore John Whelan capitalized on a Big Green man-advantage situation.

The Crimson then received a big break when Dartmouth goalie Dave Kosloff, who had been aggressively playing outside of the crease all day, lost control of the ball near midfield and senior Mike Eckert walked the ball into the Big Green net uncontested.

The teams would again trade goals to put the score dangerously close at 9-7 to end the third.

Harvard gave itself some breathing room to start the final quarter. First, sophomore Mike Ferrucci beat the Dartmouth defense to score and then Pat Marvin seemed to put the ball in the back of the Big Green net almost effortlessly.

The Crimson continued its run when Wojcik scored off a sweet feed from Eckert. The assist form Eckert was only his second point of the day but drew the most applause of the entire contest as it moved Eckert into a tie for first on Harvard's all-time career scoring list. Eckert needs only one point in the post-season to take sole possession of the record with 242 points.

Dartmouth would try to get back into the game, as freshman Brandon Henry scored on an outside shot.

But with Harvard's final goal, the Crimson's cushion would prove too much for the Big Green to overcome.

Though Dartmouth would score twice more, it was not enough, as the Crimson defense played a much more disciplined second half. One reason for the improved defensive play was Harvard goalie Rob Lyng, who shined, turning in an excellent 26 save performance.

Harvard's victory removed any doubt that the NCAA Championship Committee might have had over whether the Crimson deserved a post-season tournament invitation.

Even though Harvard was ranked sixth in the nation before its victory against Dartmouth, the win proved necessary to earn the Crimson a surprisingly low seed.

Though the Crimson will definitely have its focus directed towards post-season success, the team is also very satisfied with its regular season triumphs.

"Its the most incredible feeling--to finish 5-1 in the league and 11-2 overall--you really could not asked for anything more," Wojcik said.

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