Sluggish Laxwomen Beaten by UMass; 5-3 Loss Leaves Crimson Mark at 5-3

Playing with surprising poise a young UMass women's lacrosse team Saturday overcame a 3-2 halftime deficit to win 5-3 and hand host Harvard its third loss in eight outings.

The Minutewomen whose lineup includes six freshmen got the leadership they needed from defender Fish Stevens, who scored the tying goal 10 and a half minutes into the second stanza, and senior goalkeeper Holly Jennings, who turned away 16 of the Crimson's 18 shots.

After winning the toss, Harvard chose to play the first half with the wind at its back "to take advantage of UMass's inexperience." Coach Carole Kleinfelder explained later. The decision seemed a good one at first as Crimson attack wing Maggie Hart scored the game's initial goal with an unassisted tally at the 15 minute mark.

UMass, however, showed its mettle and responded quickly with two goals of its own as sophomore Stevens and freshman Pam Moryl beat Crimson goalkeeper Charlotte Worsley and the Harvard defense twice within 33 seconds notching the go ahead goal at 14-19.

After regaining their composure, the Harvard laxwomen began to control the pace of the play, and at 7.56, Jennifer White scooped up a Francesca Den Hartog shot that caromed off the left post and put the ball into an empty net to tie the score at two.

Tough Defense

After White's goal, the contest turned into an end to end defensive struggle as point black attempts were either missed or blocked at both nets.

Hart, from her position at third home, finally broke the tie with 1:05 remaining in the half. Den Hartog again set up the tally, taking the ball down the right side before feeding Hart, who broke down the middle of the field and beat Jennings in the upper right hand corner.

Crimson Blown Away

The Minutewomen got their chance to play with the gusting winds at their backs in the second half. The wind was a big factor--UMass Coach Pam Hixom commented after the game, "That and our speed really helped us the second half."

The laxwomen seemed sluggish as they attempted to tally an insurance goal to pad the one goal advantage. Hampered by sloppy passing (a whopping 43 turnovers on the game) and poor shooting, the Crimson couldn't manage anything in the way of offensive firepower. Stevens eventually tied the game for UMass at 9:31, and on the ensuing faceoff. Moryl controlled the ball for the Minutewomen, streaked down the field and beat Worsley to the left side. The goal gave the Minutewomen a lead they would never relinquish.

After an effective stall in which UMass controlled the ball for more than three minutes. Stevens spread some icing at 3:45 with an unassisted goal. The win gave UMass its second victory in as many games.

After the game, a disappointed and disgruntled Kleinfelder did not attempt to explain away the defeat. "Don't make any excuses, UMass played well," she said. "We just threw it away."