Laxwomen Tag Huskies, 24-9

Some players need a game, others a season, to record these kinds of numbers. Kelly McBride needed only 35 minutes.

McBride threw in six goals and recorded three assists by halftime of Saturday's Harvard-Northeastern women's lacrosse game at Persons Field.

She didn't play in the second half. She didn't need to, as the Crimson pounded the Huskies, 24-9, before 100 sun-splashed spectators.

Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder cleared her bench in the second half, so everyone could take part in the Huskie demolition. McBride wasn't the only Crimson player to put impressive numbers in the scorebook, as five of her teammates pumped two or more goals apiece.

Kleinfelder was pleased with her team's outing--it's hard to complain about a blow-out--but wondered at the ease with which the Crimson smoked Northeastern.

"Were we executing so well that they just couldn't stop us, or were they just bad defenders?" Kleinfelder asked.

Harvard (5-2-1 overall) now turns its attention to the last stretch of its season, which begins Wednesday in Providence, R.I. The Crimson will square off against Brown in a match that may decide the Ivy League championship.

If Saturday's match had value, it was as a Practice--a bit more intense than most, but just a bit--and a preparation for the last leg of the season. Parsons Field is made of artificial turf, and the Crimson (a natural grass team) will have to cope with turf against Brown.

"It helped because we could work things out without having to worry about losing," said Harvard attack Leelee Groome, who continued her assault on the world of women's lacrosse by pounding home two goals and recording two assists.

"Brown will be tough," Groome added. "We do okay on turf. Turf is no problem. It's good for bounce shots. The balls are like tennis balls."

Twice late in the first period, Groome took the face-off at mid-field, ran through a horde of Huskies and pounded the ball into the net.

"I didn't expect it to be this easy," Groome said.

THE NOTEBOOK: Kate Felsen recorded five goals and three assists for eight points...Char Joslin (3-2--5), Karen Everling (3-1--4), Cindi Ersek (2-0--2), Nicole Dehoratius (1-0--1) and Lisi Balliere (0-1--1) rounded out the Crimson scoring...Northeastern Co-Captain Kate McPartlan had a game-high seven goals, most coming in the second half, long after the game had been decided...Faces in the crowd: Harvard hockey Captain Peter Chiarelli, field hockey Captain Jenny Pyle and the Northeastern baseball team.