Laxwomen Pummel Springfield, 22-2; Den Hartog Stars, Ties Scoring Mark

The Harvard women's lacrosse team made its record seven for seven yesterday by trouncing a badly outclassed Springfield College squad. 22-2, at Soldiers Field.

Most of the Crimson firepower came off the stick of Francesea Den Hartog who beat a bewildered Springfield goalie nine times, a count that ties Sarah Mleczko's 1978 single game mark.

But it was Annie MacMillan who sparked the Crimson with an unassisted effort at 23:35. MacMillan, who eventually notched her second hat trick in two games, came down the right side of the field, rolled past a Springfield defender, and shoveled a shot past chief goalie Winnie Thornton to give the laxwomen a lead that was never threatened.

Den Hartog then broadened the gap with three goals to give the Crimson all the tallies it would need.

The Eliot House sophomore tickled the twine four more times before the lax-women posted a 14-1 score at half-time.

The Crimson defense, which allowed only six shots the entire game, was virtually impenetrable. The Chief goal in the first stanza came on Springfield's only shot of the half as Barb Long picked up a loose ball close to midfield and raced past a bored and perhaps napping defense.

Cover point Laurie Gregg said of the defensive lapse. "They had lulled us asleep by that point I felt like a spectator in the first half."

Although Crimson coach Carole Kleinfelder told her team during the intermission "to get everything off the pass," the "Fran without Ollie Show" continued to grab high ratings as Den Hartog slipped through the porous defense to open the second halfs scoring at 23:34.

Maureen Finn, who had a fine day of her own, notching four goals and two assists, and Cat Ferrante, who scored three goals and dealt two assists, then countered with scoring efforts of their own before Den Hartog slipped in her final score at 19:47.

Despite all the individual heroics, Kleinfelder was still impressed by her team's "scoring off the pass." The Crimson tallied 12 assisted goals, its season high. That showed a big difference from the team's early season victory over Penn, in which all seven of the squad's goals were unassisted.

The Crimson passing obliterated Springfield's man-to-man defense in the early going, but had more trouble when the Chiefs fell into a sagging zone in the second half.

The laxwomen will no doubt work against a zone during this week's practice. Since Saturday's opponent will be the Rams of URL a "zone team." Kleinfelder says.

URI should prove a more formidable opponent than Springfield because the laxwomen will look to avenge last year's 7-1 drubbing in Kingston, when the Rams come to Soldier's Field.

The URI zone, however, should not pose much of a problem, if the Crimson can concentrate on the game. The Crimson will also face UNH and UMass Amherst--two of the top teams in the Northeast--next week at home.

Center Carrie Byan said, "We'll have to be careful. We can't afford to blow it. It's just a question of staying up for every game."