Women Booters Sock Elis in New Haven

Once again, Yale's Lady Bulldog soccer team has demonstrated that it has more bark than bite.

Yesterday at New Haven, Conn., the Harvard women's soccer team muzzled Yale, 2-1, in a contest which boosted the Crimson's overall record to 8-1-3 (3-0-2 Ivy League).

The game looked to be just one more step in Harvard's quest for the Ivy League title. But Yale almost tripped the Crimson booters from behind.

A first-half goal put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard early, as a Yale forward capitalized on a free kick that landed on her foot near the 18-yd. line.

"It surprised us. It caught everyone, including me, back on our heels," goaltending Co-Captain Tracee Whitley said. "We had been dominating in their end just before the goal."

Harvard quickly retaliated, putting a leash on Yale at the 31:49 minute mark. "At the time [of the Yale goal]," Co-Captain Karin Pinezich said, "I told myself that we just have to score one more goal than we would otherwise have had to.

"We all felt we should have won this game," the All-Ivy candidate continued. "It was just a matter of time until we scored."

The time belonged to Pinezich. The senior midfielder tied the contest on a penalty kick after a Yale fullback grabbed a Crimson shot heading toward the net. Pinezich stepped up to answer the challenge, knotting the score at 1-1.

Although it dominated the play throughout, Harvard was unable to score again until there were five minutes remaining in the game. Freshman Ann Kletz finished off a Jen Gifford flick-on from a Pinezich cross to seal a 2-1 win.

"It was nice. We all knew that we were better than Yale, and no one wanted overtime," Kletz said. "We played better than them the whole game, but we just couldn't score."

With Yale behind them, the Crimson booters will travel to Providence, R.I., Saturday for a showdown with Brown. On the same day, Cornell, the Ivy League front-runner, will match up with the Princeton Tigers in New Jersey.

Cornell currently leads the Crimson in the Ivy League standings by one point, and a victory over the Tigers would give the title to the Big Red.

Should the Tigers beat Cornell, however, a Harvard win would give the Crimson sole possession of the Ivy crown. A Harvard tie would mean a shared title in the event of a Cornell loss.

When asked if the Crimson booters will be doing anything differently in their crucial contest against Brown, Whitley said, "What we're going to do is win. None of the seniors have ever beaten Brown."

They've nailed Yale. If Cornell fails, it's Harvard over Brown for the crown.

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard outshot the Bulldogs 27-6 in the contest...The Crimson was missing the help of senior midfielder Julie Sasner, who did not make the trip to New Haven due to an ankle injury sustained against Dartmouth...Harvard entered the contest ranked 14th in nation.