Laxwomen End Bruins' Upset Hopes, 14-6; Pew, Hart Lead Nine-Goal Second Half Rally

"Carole [Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder] had told us before the game that for [Brown] to beat us would make their whole season." Harvard women's lacrosse coach Captain Jeanne Piersiak said.

And when the Bruins took a 6-5 lead just two minutes into the second half yesterday, it looked like they were on their way to doing just that.

Only a brilliant second-half offensive performance--thanks largely to the play of Lili Pew and Maggie Hart--brought the Crimson back to a 14-6 victory over a much less talented Brown squad in Providence.

The comeback ended a 1 1/2 game slump that began with a 7-6 loss at UMass Sunday. For the first 27 minutes of yesterday's game. Harvard made the mistakes that had plagued it in Amherst three days earlier.

Committing several crucial mental errors, the uninspired Harvard squad allowed the smaller and slower Bruin squad to jump out to a quick lead yesterday, and then swapped goals with Brown to fight to a 5-5 halftime tie. But the laxwomen shook off their lethargy in time to explode for nine unanswered goals in the game's final 20 minutes.

The victory raised the Crimson's record to 5-3-1 (2-1 in the Ivies), while Brown fell to 1-6 (1-2 in the Ivies). More importantly, however, the win kept the laxwomen's Ivy League title hopes alive, with a big match-up against Cornell on tap this weekend.

"It really took us a while to get going." Captain Jeanne Piersiak said. "They came out really strong and we didn't."

In fact, the more aggressive Bruins nabbed the game's first goal, with just three minutes. From there, the two squads traded goals until Harvard went on top, 5-3, with five minutes left in the first.

The eager Brown squad fought back, though, scoring two late goals--the last with just four seconds left in the half--to force the 5-5 halftime tie.

Then, at 23:03 of the second half, Crimson goalie Krikett Johnson let by what proved to be the Bruins' sole second-half shot on goal, and Harvard had reached its low point of the afternoon.

With a 6-5 lead in hand, though, the hosts quickly let the game's tempo slip away. Aided by its switch to a zone defense--the Crimson had played a man-to-man set-up in the first half--Harvard picked up several ground balls, quickly following that with a barrage of shots.

And before the Bruin defense could react, Hart and Pew led the Crimson offense to nine straight goals to reach the final 14-6 score. Hart's three late goals and Pew's aggressive offensive play drew much of the attention away from All-Americans Maureen Finn and Francesca DenHartog, who combined for six goals.

The Crimson--with an injury list that reads like a "Who's Who of All Stars"--heads to upstate New York this weekend for matchups with Cornell and Colgate. Piersiak, who suffered a hyper-extended elbow yesterday, Ellen Velie, Ellen O'Neill, Lisa Black and Alicia Clifton all have been hobbled by injuries.

THE NOTEBOOK: Johnson recorded a measly three saves after relieving Sally Degan, who played the first seven minutes...Andy Mainelli continued her impressive play...The J.V. squad downed the Brown squad, 11-4, in the nightcap.