The Vermont Catamounts chose the wrong day to challenge a 20th ranked Harvard men's lacrosse squad smarting from two spring break defeats. Overcoming a sloppy start, the Crimson pounded the visitors to the tune of 24-6. HARVARD  24 VERMONT  6

Captain Mike Ferrucci was the star of the day, scoring nine points on a career high eight goals. He repeatedly scored against a Vermont defense which simply could not contain a Harvard attack which got goals from ten different players.

Senior attackman Jim Bevilacqua fed sophomore Lawson DeVries cutting off a pick on the crease for the first goal of the game.

Bevilacqua then scored thirty seconds later, relaying a pass from senior Doug Crofton into the corner of the net. He was the second leading scorer on the day with three goals and three assists.

Ferrucci next finished off a fast break started by a defensive strip to establish a 3-0 lead. DeVries found him curling off the right post and the team's leading scorer powered a shot through Vermont goal-tender Carl Langfeldt.

Ferrucci's performance fell one short of the Harvard record of nine goals which is held by five different players.

"I was set up really well by my teammates," said Ferrucci. "Almost all of my goals were assisted which is the way lacrosse should be played."

Ferrucci recently moved into third place on the all-time Harvard scoring list.

The Crimson grabbed control of the game in the first stanza, establishing a 10-2 lead at halftime. The attack scored nine of the goals, with Ferrucci accounting for five.

"We worked hard in practice on being more aggressive around the crease and using picks to get each other free," said Bevilacqua. "We also have been dodging more from behind the net. Both of those things paid off for us today."

In the second half the rest of the team got into the action. Senior Owen Leary had two goals and an assist, as they marked up fourteen tallies.

"Vermont is a weaker team, but it was still a good win for us," Leary said. "We played a sound game and we are ready now for the weekend."

Freshman Roger Buttles had his best performance in a Harvard uniform, notching a hat trick.

Buttles and freshman defensive middle Matt Schuh, both sporting long manes, have stood out for their strong play as well as their haircuts. They join several other freshman who continue to perform well.

Sophomore goalies Keith Cynar and Art Chen posted five and four saves respectively, but the Harvard defense once again applied the clamps and made their job easy. The stifling pressure kept the attack in check and forced turnovers all day.

For the Catamounts, sophomores Brendan Ginty and Kip Edwards both scored twice. Langfeldt made 12 saves on the day.

The win leaves the Crimson 4-2 and in a better frame of mind.

"It was a good game for us to come out and get our confidence and focus back," Anderson said. "I was satisfied with our effort and intensity and I thought we executed well on both ends of the field."

The Crimson were reeling after consecutive losses to ranked opponents Hobart and Duke. The team played well against Hobart but did not manage to convert their shots. Yesterday the Crimson connected on 24-43 for the game. The team also cleaned up the turnovers which cost them against Duke.

Harvard plays Ivy League rival Cornell Saturday at 1 p.m. at Ohiri field. The Big Red is sitting atop the Ivy League standings with wins over Penn and Yale. In order to secure an NCAA berth, the Crimson cannot afford to drop winnable games, which makes this a very significant midseason test.

HARVARD, 24-6 at Ohiri Field Vermont  0  2  1  3  --  6 Harvard  3  7  9  5  -  24

G: Harvard--Ferrucci (8), Bevilacqua (3), Buttles (3), DeVries (2), Crofton (2), Leary (2), Callan (2), Famigletti (1), Sprong (1); Vermont--Ginty (2), Edwards (2), Schell (1), Stockman (1). A: Harvard--Bevilacqua (3), De Vries (2), Klein (2), Crofton (1), Ferrucci (1), Leary (1), Chupaila (1), Schuh (1), Shinners (1), Okike (1); Vermont--Robertson (1). S: Harvard--Cynar (4), Chen (5), O'Hare (2); Vermont--Langfeldt (12), Culver (5), Beaudoin (2).