Laxwomen Topple Rutgers

After Saturday's 7.6 win over the University of Vermont, Harvard women's lacrosse defenseman Ellen O'Neill gave the credit to her squad's "winning edge."

The only thing that changed in Piscataway, N.J. yesterday was the margin of the "winning edge."

Make it a two-goal win this time--a 7-5 squeaker over Rutgers in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. And then make it a five-game winning streak for the Harvard squad.

The laxwomen, who dropped their season opener at Mary land three weeks ago, reeled off win number five in a row yesterday to up their season record to 5-1.

The script didn't change much in the Crimson's latest victory, which once again saw Harvard fall behind early, scrap to get back in it and then hang on to record the most precarious of victories.

"We just seem to have that winning edge," O'Neill said after Vermont, explaining the success of a squad that lacks the individual stars of years gone by.

"We just know how to win."

That's been the key for Harvard, whose five wins now include a one-goal win and two two-goal wins.

Intense Fighting

It was never more than a two-goal difference yesterday at the Rutgers Sports Complex, and victory wasn't sure until just 1:28 remained on the scoreboard. That's when junior Claire Farley sent her second goal of the day past Scarlet Knight netminder Maria Grant to give the Crimson its 7.5 win.

Alicia Clifton opened things for the Crimson, taking Grant to the back of the net 10.53 into the game. But that Harvard lead quickly became that of Harvard lead, when successive scores from Lyn Reilly and Mary Kelleher put Rutgers on top, 2-1, 14.05 into the inaugural showdown.

The see-saw swung swiftly, though, when Harvard's brightest offensive stars--Captain Maggie Hart and Lisa Black--gave the visitors a 3-2 lead with just 1:30 left in the first half.

A defensive lapse at the Harvard end, however, let Reilly tie the contest with just 18 seconds left in the first half.

The most balanced Harvard offensive display of the year took care of that, as Farley and Blair Wardenburg put the Crimson up, 5-4. A goal from Hart and from Rutgers' Liz Ferrara then set the stage for Farley's last-minute sealer.

The Crimson returns to action Saturday, when it will put its five-game streak on the line against a familiar foe. The revenge motive will be on Harvard's side when the University of Massachusetts visits town. UMass broke the Crimson's eight-game win streak last May with a 7-6 win in the NCAA quarter-finals.

THE NOTEBOOK: The winning streak is nowhere near Harvard's all-time record, which spanned 17 games from 1981-82...Game time Saturday is 1 p.m.