Big Green Blanks Women Booters, 1-0

HANOVER, N.H.--When you make a change to shake things up, sometimes it works.

And sometimes it doesn't

Harvard women's soccer Coach Tim Wheaton tried to shake up his slumping squad here Saturday by starting sophomore Beth Reilly in the net instead of usual starter Liz Wald.

The strategy worked for 88 minutes-Reilly and the Crimson defense fended off several dangerous Dartmouth attacks. But the Big Green finally tallied with less than two minutes remaining to edge Harvard, 1-0, in front of 150 fans.

"Beth has been working hard," Wheaton said. "Liz has played well, but we needed to make a change to shake things up."

Reilly was simply outstanding in the net, making 20 saves against a relentless Dartmouth attack. But with two minutes left in the second half, the Big Green (3-5, 2-2 Ivy League) finally capitalized.

A Dartmouth corner kick landed in the Crimson box and eluded several clearing attempts by Harvard defenders. Big Green leading scorer Dana Weintraub knocked the ball back to teammate Chris Gates, who promptly rifled it into the Harvard net for the game's only goal.

"The whole play seemed to be happening in slow-motion," Reilly said. "The ball was being kicked around and there were about seven people between the ball and the goal. When the shot came, I was totally screened."

The goal was Gates' second of the season, a surprisingly low total for the Dartmouth captain, who is generally considered one of the better offensive players in the region.

"Chris has been struggling a bit this year," Dartmouth Coach B.J. O'Hara said. "I'm glad she got a chance to show why she's one of the best strikers in New England."

The tally followed about 30 minutes of intense Dartmouth pressure in the Harvard end. The Big Green dominated play in the second half, putting on a passing clinic in the midfield to keep the Crimson (3-6 overall, 1-2 Ivy League) pinned in its own zone.

But Reilly and the Harvard defense, led by juniors Andrea Montalbano and Jen Gifford, kept breaking up excellent Dartmouth scoring opportunities.

"All in all, I thought we had one of our better efforts, putting out and playing hard," Wheaton said. "We just have to match intensity with intensity. I think we have as much talent as anyone we've played."

Punchless

Each team had good chances in the evenly played first half, but both were unable to convert their opportunities into goals.

The Crimson has not scored a goal in its last four games, for a two-week scoreless span.

With the Harvard offense muzzled and Dartmouth pressuring intensely, it was just a question of whether the Big Green would score before time ran out.

"For 90 minutes, that was the best effort we had all season," O'Hara said. "I had a feeling it would take only one goal to break it open. We were afraid that we wouldn't get the one goal we needed. Soccer is such a fickle game."

THE NOTEBOOK: Dartmouth outshot Harvard, 23-11, in the game and had six corner kicks to the Crimson's one...Big Green goalie Debbie Tripaldi made 10 saves.