B.C. Blasts Stickwomen Crimson Capsizes, 5-1

The Harvard field hockey team had its hopes for a Boston Four Title dashed yesterday after losing, 5-1, to a strong Boston College team in front of 50 spectators at Soldiers Field. And junior goalie Denise Katsias, one of the Ivy League's best goaltenders, suffered her worst collegiate defeat ever, surrendering all five goals in the second half.

In her freshman year, Katsias surrendered four goals to Vermont and last year gave up four to Pennsylvania. Both games were on the road.

The Crimson (now 1-2 in Boston Four, 5-5-2 overall) came out strong at the outset and took the lead at 23:34 of the first half on sophomore Lisa Cutone's unassisted goal.

But the Eagles responded with five goals of their own in the second half, all of which came within a 20 minute period.

"We have had a tendency this year to let the pressure off the opponent after we score the first goal," Harvard Coach Nita Lamborghini said. "We need to bear down after we score first. We need to be more intense and control the pace of the game."

"In the first half, we played pretty well," said Harvard Tri-Captain Cindi Ersek, noting that the second half seemed like an entirely different game. "But in the second half, they were hungry. They really had a will to win."

Lamborghini, disappointed with the elimination of the Crimson from the Boston Four race, remained upbeat about her team's future.

"I'm still encouraged," she said. "We're a young team and we're learning that we have to keep the pressure on after the first score. A good team will come back hard at you after a score."

The Crimson's rigorous schedule continues Saturday with an Ivy League match at Brown.