It's not easy having the No. 1 ranking. It gets tougher when you are playing an archrival with a chance to accomplish something your school has been unable to in 62 years. The Yale men's lacrosse team avoided the distractions today to register a 16-8 win over Harvard on the last day of the regular season that gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 Ivy mark for the first time since 1956. The Bulldogs (12-2), winners of 5 straight, scored 5 of the first 6 goals on the way to a 5th straight blowout victory. Those streaks are on the line when Yale faces Penn in Friday's Ivy Tournament Semifinal at Columbia's Baker Field. Harvard goalie Robert Shaw (18 saves) challenged one of the nation's best offenses early on, but he could hold on for only so long. Senior attackman Ben Reeves showed why he should make it three straight Tewaaraton Finalist honors with 4 goals and 3 assists. The Yale captain was zipping passes all over the place, especially when feeling the frequent double teams. Sophomore Matt Gaudet, one of the hottest Bulldogs in recent games, pitched in a career-high 4 goals and 6 points, while sophomore Jackson Morrill (4 points) and junior Ted Forst each hit the net twice. Gaudet erased Harvard's only lead by taking a Morrill crossing pass and bouncing a shot past Shaw in the first quarter to tie the game at 1-1. He gave the Blue its first lead, at 2-1, 5 minutes later with a low release at 3:23 of the first. "I was finding the holes well today," said Gaudet about the spacing of the opposing defense. "I am thankful my teammates were able to find me. They have an incredible goalie who stood on his head today." The Crimson netminder allowed just 3 goals in the first quarter, the last of which came on a great pass from Reeves to Jack Tigh with 24 seconds left. The Blue dominated on the scoresheet (56-21 shots; 40-28 GB) because it was superior on the X and caused havoc when the Crimson were attempting clears. Senior Conor Mackie won 15 of 20 faceoffs and scooped 10 ground balls, while classmate Owen Jones won 5 of 8 and had a pair of GBs. They created 20 possessions and the Yale ride pitched in 7, including 6 turnovers in the first half and one in the second. "We try to be the hardest riding team in the country," said Reeves, who caused one of those 7 failed clears and later scored a goal with 17 seconds left in the first half that took the wind out of Shaw's sail and gave the Blue a 6-2 halftime lead. The Eli defense also played a huge role in today's Senior Day victory. One of those veterans, Christopher Keating, was instrumental in helping the home team hold the Crimson to 3 goals through 3 quarters. The All-America defenseman forced 3 turnovers and grabbed 4 ground balls. Another senior, Jerry O'Connor (2 GB, 1 CT), and rookie Chris Fake (2 CT, 4 GB), who made last week's USILA Team of the Week, helped the Yale defense apply pressure to a Harvard squad trying to avoid losing a 5th straight game. "This was really a great team win," said Forst, who will play for the Irish National Team at the World Championships this summer. "It was a great riding day and a day where a lot of guys stepped up." BULLDOG BITES The current seniors tied the school record for most wins by a Yale lacrosse class with its 46th today… Yale's last perfect Ivy slate came in the first year of official league play in 1956… Ben Reeves now has 154 career goals and trails Jon Reese '90 by 8 for the school record… Eight different Elis hit the net today… Jack Starr (starter) and Hoyt Crance combined for 4 saves in the Yale net… 37 Bulldogs got in the game today… The Elis play semifinal 1 at 6 p.m. (ESPNU) against the Quakers on Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence Wien Stadium… That game will be the 3rd straight for Yale on ESPNU.