The Harvard men's lacrosse team surrendered three unanswered goals over the final 10:29, dropping its fourth straight decision to UMass by an 8-4 final yesterday at Ohiri Field.

The Crimson (3-7, 1-3 Ivy) had trimmed a 5-1 deficit to 5-4 early in the fourth quarter, but a quick comeback tally from UMass midfielder Keith Gabrielli and a pair from attackman Mike Janowicz broke open this tight, low-scoring game for the Minutemen (4-7).

Janowicz and senior midfielder Jay Negus led UMass with two goals each, while midfielder Marc Morley and attackman Mike McKeefrey both posted two assists. Mckeefrey now leads the Minutemen with 15 assists.

"Obviously it was a tough loss," said junior attackman Lawson DeVries. "We came in knowing that we could win the game. The season's been kind of a disappointment so far, so we were just trying to take these last few games one at a time. UMass is strong, but we thought we had a good chance."

Sophomore midfielder Roger Buttles led the Crimson with two goals, upping his team-high total to 12, while attackman Dana Sprong added a goal and an assist as Harvard managed only a seasonlow four goals on 13 shots.

"UMass keeps all their games lowscoring," DeVries said. "The thing you learn from a game like this is that you've got to learn to play with teams that possess the ball. If that's their game, you've got to play it, too."

The Crimson cut the Minuteman lead to 5-4 with 11:49 remaining in the game--its closest margin of the second half--when DeVries found Sprong for his 12th goal of the season in an extra-man situation.

As Sprong crept in behind UMass goalie Chris Campolettano and camped out on the right doorstep, DeVries fed him

But the Minutemen responded with three straight, the first coming just 1:20 later. Gabrielli beat Harvard goalie Keith Cynar on a wraparound shot from the left side, making it 6-4.

Cynar made 12 saves on the afternoon as his record fell to 3-7.

Campolettano stopped two quality chances late in the fourth, stoning freshman phenom Mike Baly and junior attackman Geoff Watson on roll-outs from behind the cage.

Campolettano had a light afternoon, making just nine saves.

But Janowicz was able to beat Cynar twice, the first coming with 6:03 remaining on a feed from attackman Rich Kunkel, who was biding his time behind the cage. Kunkel flipped the ball out to the right flank for Janowicz, who beat Cynar low at the far post.

Janowicz sealed the win at 8-4 with 3:46 to play, stuffing in attackman John Madigan's feed from point-blank range.

The Minutemen were able to pack it in down the stretch, running a ball-control offense and waiting patiently for shots. UMass also converted 6-of-6 clears in the quarter.

"The fourth quarter was frustrating because UMass did a good job controlling the offense," DeVries said. "They won face-offs, they worked the clock and they scored on their possessions."

The Crimson's only rally of an otherwise sluggish day started with 6:49 left in the third, as it closed from 5-1 to 5-4. Baly converted on an extra-man opportunity with a one-hopper from just inside the line for his eighth goal of the season. He trails just Buttles and Sprong for the team lead in goals.

Harvard got three of its four goals on the afternoon in extra-man situations, going 3-for-8.

"The third quarter showed that we can play with anyone," DeVries said. "Talentwise, UMass was not a better team than us. But we're a young team and we're working on learning how to play complete games."

Buttles scored unassisted on a wraparound with 13:36 to play in the fourth, making it 5-3, before Sprong netted the Crimson's final goal at 11:49.

"We came out with the attitude that we had nothing to lose," DeVries said. "We knew we had to start shooting, and we had to put some pressure on the goalie."

UMass cruised in the first half, outshooting the Crimson 8-4 and piling up a 3-1 advantage

Negus and Kunkel converted on almost identical plays in the first quarter, taking feeds on the left flank and beating Cynar with high shots.

Negus found the back of the cage with 11:08 remaining in the first, taking midfielder Don Little's pass and going over Cynar's left shoulder.

Kunkel scored five minutes later, taking a pass from Morley and whipping it into the top right corner of the net for a 2-0 lead.

Buttles scored the Crimson's only goal of the half on an extra-man chance with 1:05 to play in the quarter, snapping a onehopper past Campolettano off Sprong's assist.

But midfielder Jeremy Guski made the Minuteman lead 3-1 when Morley shook off a defender in front of the net and flipped it wide to him with 9:23 remaining in the half.

Next up for the Crimson is No. 19 Yale (5-5, 2-2 Ivy), who will visit Ohiri Field on Saturday. A loss to the Bulldogs would guarantee a losing Ivy League record.

"People are getting frustrated, with four losses in a row," DeVries said. "Yale's always a huge game and a huge opportunity." UMass, 8-4 at Ohiri Field UMass  2  1  2  3  --  8 Harvard  1  0  1  2  --  4 G: UMass--Negus (2), Janowicz (2), Runkel, Little, Gabrielli, Guski; Harvard--Buttles (2), Sprong, Baly. A: UMass--Morley (2), McCaffrey (2), Runkel, Little, Madigan; Harvard--Sprong, DeVries, Callan. S: UMass--9; Harvard--12