Big Red Derails Icewomen, 2-1; Harvard's Ivy Hopes Demolished

To come out an top, you have to start quickly and stay strong throughout the race.

The Harvard women's hockey team looked as though it might stick with the pack and capture its last ever Ivy League title but in the end its endmance faltered.

After leading the Ivies for much of the season. Harvard left its title hopes in upstate New York with a heart breaking 2-1 loss to Cornell on Sunday.

"For some season we always do had on these long load trips," said Crimson center Fiz Ward. "We said off really slowly and it takes us until halfway through the game to get going."

Harvard came on strong late, but by then it was too late to make up an-early two goal deficit.

Cornell, pumped up from a victory over fourth place Dartmouth the day before, wasn't in the mood to make things any easier for the Crimson.

In fact, the squad that floundered to a 1 loss at Bright Center in December was nowhere to be seen on Sunday.

Transfer student Patricia Bauman, formerly of the University of New Hampshire had a hand in both of the afternoons goals.

Also new is the confident play of goalie Sandy Gilbert, who won the starting role in net from senior Nadme Wormsbacker and registered 21 saves against Harvard.

The Big Red jumped ahead right away, as Bauman scored on the game's first shift.

Center Amy Stanzin passed the puck in front of the goal, where it knocked off a Crimson defender's slate. Bauman promptly tipped it through the crowd and past net-minder Iracy Kimmel to make the score 1-0, Cornell.

"It was just a matter of their starting to skate right away." Harvard's Christine Dooley said. "It wasn't a great goal, but we just weren't ready for them yet."

Eleven minutes later the roles reversed as Stanzin tallied off an assist from Bauman.

"She was coming down the ice and the defense shifted" her way off angle." Ward said, "but she managed to hit the far post."

Neither squad scored again until the beginning of the third stanza, when Harvard finally started to warm up.

Freshman defenseman Julie Sasner notched her ninth Ivy League goal of the year unassisted, only 46 seconds into the period.

"Julie's goal was incredible," Dooley said. "She decoyed four people took it in herself, and beat the goalie."

Only two other players in the Ivies have play than Sasner--Brown's outstanding forwards Mardie Corcoran (17) and Fisa Bishop (14).

"We really dominated them in the third period," Ward said. "We hit the post a lot of times." Unfortunately for the Crimson, none of those shots managed to squirt past Gilbert.

"The game could have gone either way at the end." Dooley said. "I think if we'd had a couple of more minutes we definitely could have tied them."

Instead, Harvard had to settle for a 2-1 loss, and a probable second-place finish behind Brown now 6-2 with two Ivy games remaining.

The Crimson holds a 5-4 league mark, with a final Ivy contest at Dartmouth slated for February 27.

"We had a great shot this year," said Dooley. "We have all these" freshmen returning next year, but it's too bad we couldn't win it this year for all of the seniors."

Ward, a senior, was more succinct "it was a bummer."

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard hosts the University of Connecticut in a non-league game Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Bright ... The icewomen's last home contest is Saturday, March 2 against the University of Vermont.

Big Red, 2-1 at Eynah Rink Harvard  0  0  1  1 Cornell  2  0  0  2

Second period

Third period

"We really dominated them in the third period," Ward said. "We hit the post a lot of times." Unfortunately for the Crimson, none of those shots managed to squirt past Gilbert.

"The game could have gone either way at the end." Dooley said. "I think if we'd had a couple of more minutes we definitely could have tied them."

Instead, Harvard had to settle for a 2-1 loss, and a probable second-place finish behind Brown now 6-2 with two Ivy games remaining.

The Crimson holds a 5-4 league mark, with a final Ivy contest at Dartmouth slated for February 27.

"We had a great shot this year," said Dooley. "We have all these" freshmen returning next year, but it's too bad we couldn't win it this year for all of the seniors."

Ward, a senior, was more succinct "it was a bummer."

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard hosts the University of Connecticut in a non-league game Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Bright ... The icewomen's last home contest is Saturday, March 2 against the University of Vermont.

Big Red, 2-1 at Eynah Rink Harvard  0  0  1  1 Cornell  2  0  0  2

Second period

Third period

Second period

Third period

Second period

Third period

Third period