Debi's Dream Comes True

"You wait and see--we'll have a championship-calibre squad at Radcliffe in the future. And we'll also beat those guys one day."--Debi Field, November 8, 1975, after 4-0 loss to Princeton. "We've got a shot--we're going for it.!"

Debi Field, October 28, 1978, after 1-0 win over Princeton

Harvard 1, Princeton 0.

"The Win" says it all about the 1978 edition of the Harvard women's field hockey squad, which is using the euphoric after-glow of last weekend's first-ever victory over the Tigers to get primed for the upcoming EAIAW Regional Qualifying Tournament. And when you sit down and analyze the depth and strengths of this year's unit, a trip to the national tourney by the Cambridge stickers is not such a far-fetched scenario.

If I had written something like this three years ago, the man in the white suits would have come calling. It stretched even my P.R. abilities to write positive things about a 2-10-3 team. After all, the then wet-behind-the-ears rookie Field looked younger than many of her players, who failed to score in no less than seven games while losing to--gasp--Wellesley and Wheaton.

But the perky coach with the infectious grin calmly started spinning her magic, working on fundamentals, enticing talented high school players to Cambridge, and changing Radcliffe's Seven Sisters cellar-dwelling image with eternal optimism. Unlike many of those up for re-election next week, Field's record since '75 speaks for itself: 26-7-9 (through last Saturday's landmark victory in Tigertown).

Take goalie co-captain Ellen Seidler. The Tacoma flash had no intention of playing field hockey. "My roommate freshman year was trying out for the team," sayd Seidler, "and I went along for the ride to see Coach Field. They were talking and I just blurted out, 'Maybe I should try out. I've used my feet in soccer, maybe I could play goal."'

Field and then assistant coach Carole Kleinfelder worked with Seidler on honing her goal-keeping skills, and the incessant perfectionist qualities in the twineskeeper did the rest. Ellen has been in the twines for every game since opening day in 1976, and her stats have been every bit as amazing as the Crimson's turnaround. The K-House senior has notched 20 shutouts en route to a 25-7-6 mark, and although she's the first to modestly downplay her contribution to the squad's success, the kudos continues to roll.

"Ellen played an awesome game against Princeton," said coach Field. "She showed a lot of poise and control throughout." But Seidler prefers to thank her supporting cast, defensive stalwarts like sweeper Chris Sailer and link Elaine Kellogg.

And what about that Princeton win? "Oh, God, it was excellent. We deserved it," said co-captain Mary Howard. While Seidler leads this year's unit via her cool, steely professionalism and determination, Howard represents a bubbly enthusiastic contrast. The Princeton win was particularly sweet for the four-year varsity vet, who believes this year's squad is the closest-knit ever.

"Our England trip in late August means so much right now," said Howard, a Fine Arts major in Eliot House. "It brought our club together, and we've maintained that high ever since. We feel good about ourselves, believe in each other, and everybody is pulling their own weight and contributing for the team."

According to Howard, the team "could feel it in our bones that we were going to beat Princeton." Coach Field told the squad she had two dreams about a Harvard win (ah, nothing like a little bit of good old Freudian psychology), while a 5-0 win earlier in the week over Brown (another first!) served to add adrenalin to the Crimson ranks.

The win boosted Harvard's mark to 7-2, and sets the stage for Friday's first round EAIAW match with Cornell at Cortland College in Ithaca. The tourney has been changed to a satellite format, with the top 16 squads in New England squaring off this weekend at four separate sites to determine regional semi-finalists.

Harvard is ranked sixth in the tourney behind top-seeded Connecticut, Dartmouth, UMass, UNH, and Springfield. The Crimson disposed of the Red Raiders, 2-0, earlier in the season, and if lightning should happen to strike twice, they would face the winner of the UMass-Cortland College clash on Saturday. "We have a chance, but you definitely have to plug us in as the underdog against UMass," says Field.

Connecticut, by the way, finished fourth in the nation last year, and their strong showing led the national powers-that-be to grant the EAIAW three berths in this year's nationals at Central Washington State College. All of which means that IF Harvard gets by this weekend, and IF the Crimson can finish at least third in the finals the following week, it's off to the balmy climes of beautiful down-town Ellensburg in Washington.

"I'm so psyched," says Howard 'characteristically. "We're so close to the nationals, yet so far because we'll have a lot of tough games to get there, but we can do it." Not only is such spirit contagious, but coach Field is already beginning to fret about where the money would come from to pay for the fare to Washington for the late November happening.

Don't worry, coach. We're already taking up a collection down here at the sports cube. Hey, you gotta believe!