Booters Blank Yale, 2-0; New Goalie Vialet Shines

The Harvard women's soccer team's 2-0 victory over Yale yesterday provided the booters with little consolation for their weekend loss.

After losing the Ivy title to Brown on Saturday, 5-3, and failing to earn an NCAA tournament bid Sunday, the Crimson had little to gain in a clash with the league's cellar squad. Nonetheless, Harvard played well in yesterday's contest, earning its first shutout of the year, with a new starting goalie in the net.

"I really like it [playing goalie], but I haven't got a good idea of what I am doing," said sophomore netminder Jill Vialet after blanking Yale in her first start. "Although I am very athletic, I hadn't played goalie before this year." Vialet played most of her season on JV. She was forced into the cage after Harvard lost its second netminder Saturday.

Senior Janet Judge, team co-captain with midfielder Inga Larson, lasted 20 minutes of the season. She sustained a year-ending injury against Bowdoin in the Crimson's opening contest, so the responsibility to guard the goal fell to freshman Lisa Rowning of Lake Oswego, Oregon Rowning was consistent, if unspectacular, and showed poise under pressure. She, however, was destined to join Judge on the sidelines. Against Brown last weekend she hurt her knee and was scratched from the Yale contest, Enter Vialet.

Although the sophomore had played two brief 10-minute stints mopping up for Rowning in the preceding games, the clash with Yale gave her a chance to show that shee too, could play. "I played okay, but it was mostly the defense." Vialet said after the game. "Lisa's been an amazing teacher and everyone has been teally nice. I just go out there and try to head them off at the pass."

Harvard dominated the Elis. Although the Crimson didnot score until 12:39 of the second period, when Ann Baker converted a Wendy Zeeben pass, the Crimson controlled the ball throughtout. And when freshman Mary Beth Healy added the second score six minutes later, the Booters had no trouble keeping the Elis in line, winning by that score.

Junior striker Kelly Landry saw her nine game goal-scoring streak stopped. "It wasn't a great season for the team; that's all that matters," Landry said, lamenting the season's outcome, rather than talking of her own success. "Considering the injury situation we have done very well this season. We proved ourselves in some games, and we were disappointing in other, like Princeton and on Saturday." The women booters lost several players to injuries during the season, and were never completely healthy since their first game.

The Crimson played eight freshmen and the inexperienced sophomore goalie Vialet for much of the game. Every player returns next season and junior striker Alicia Carrillo, injured in the opening game like Judge, will also be back to complement an already strong offensive attack.

Landry, with 52 goals in her first three campaigns, will be shooting for the Harvard career record of 65, held by Jill St. Louis, her senior year. The team as a whole will be gunning for revenge. Its targets will be Princeton and Brown, two squads which beat the Crimson in tightly fought contests this season. Next year's goal will be an Ivy crown and the opportunity to return to the NCAA's, two achievements that escaped this year's squad.

Harvard stands with a 3-2 Ivy mark and an 8-5 slate overall with one game remaining. The Crimson has shown flashes of brilliance this season for example in beating the third-ranked Minuteman of the University of Massachusetts. "The best team we'll face this year--they're better than UConn or Princeton," Coach Bob Scalise had said before his booters nipped the Minutemen 3-2 in overtime. At other times the Crimson played inconsistently. They dropped the game to Princeton by surrendering a pair of second overtime scores and falling to the Tigers, 4-3.