Harvard Women Fade Fast in Tourney

Seventy minutes of scoreless play put an abrupt end to a Thanksgiving vacation in Denver for the Harvard women's field hockey team.

In the opening round of the Northeast Intercollegiate Field Hockey Championships last Thursday, the Crimson women could not muster a goal against the Eli' team they had beaten 2-0 just eight days earlier, and the 2-0 loss knocked Harvard out of the tournament and out of contention for a spot in the national tournament in Denver.

In Saturday morning's tourney final, fourth-seeded UConn upended second-ranked UMass, 1-0, to take the tourney title. UConn co-captain Liz Childs scored the lone goal at 19:30 into the first half. Her unassisted score came off a rebound from the pads of UMass goalie Kathy Gipps. The two finalists will both travel to Colorado in two weeks to represent the Northeast in the NCAA Championships.

the three-day tournament was the first women's sporting event to be played in Harvard Stadium, but the splendid surroundings did not perk up the Crimson women's play. Following the Yale loss, Harvard knocked off Keene State in the first round of the consolations, 3-1, on goals by Gwill York, Jenny Stone, and Julie Kornman.

Swan Song

However, that was the women's final win for '77 as Colgate topped the Harvard team in overtime, 2-1, following a tense 1-1 regulation tie off sweeper Chris Sailor's penalty stroke at the 34:30 mark of the second period.

Harvard and Colgate tied 0-0 in the penalty corner playoff, but Colgate then swamped the women, 5-2, in the penalty flicks (penalty shots taken one-on-one, shooter against the goalie).

UConn edged top-seeded New Hampshire, 2-1, in overtime to gain one finalist spot, while UMass wiped out sixth-seeded Springfield, the defending champs, in the other semi-final tilt.

the tournament ended a mixed season for the Harvard women who were plagued by ties that held their record to 6-2-4 overall, 2-0-4 in the Ivy League.