Stickwomen Stick It to Eagles

The Harvard field hockey team got back on track yesterday afternoon at Cumnock field.

The Crimson (8-2-1) handily defeated Boston College, 3-1. The Eagles dug themselves into an early hole and never recovered, lowering their record to 3-13.

The Crimson victory marked the third straight year that Harvard has defeated its local rivals. The Crimson now leads the overall series, 7-3-1.

Harvard applied immediate pressure and rattled the Eagle defense. Harvard was awarded a penalty stroke just three minutes into the game as the ball got lost in Boston College goaltender Marilyn Huang's pads.

Sophomore back Amy Belisle stepped to the line and exorcised the ghosts of past penalty strokes. Belisle's shot squeezed past Huang and gave Harvard a 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes later, the Crimson added another goa 1.Harvard continued to work the ball around the Eagle end and Huang made a key save. The rebound, however, rolled out to forward Sarah Downing. The sophomore quickly pulled it to the left and scored before Huang could recover. The tally gave Harvard a formidable 2-0 lead.

"We jumped on them right away and had some good opportunities," Crimson coach Sue Caples said. "We put the ball in the net early, but then came a little lull."

The game understandably slowed down. Harvard had the lead it wanted and Boston College seemed incapable of an end-to-end transition game. The Eagles may not have had effective passing or free hits, but they did work hard to keep the field position which they gained.

With 4:21 left in the first half, B.C. converted some solid pressure into a goal. Several players crowded around goalie Lisa Yadao, who had fallen to block an initial shot. Michelle Heaslip found an opening and whacked the ball between Yadao's pads, cutting Harvard's lead to 2-1.

Harvard came off its heels to begin the second half. Backs Belisle and Francie Walton curbed the Eagle offense by tackling back effectively. Sarah Downing, Kristen Fowler and Loren Ambinder made several quick rushes and increased the game's pace on the offensive end.

More than once, the Eagles were forced to golf the ball out of their end to relieve the Crimson's pressure. Boston College didn't pack it in, however. The Eagles received four corners in the second half and Yadao made a few key saves which kept Harvard on top.

"We were a little tight," said Caples. "When we have the lead we need to take control, play with confidence, but we got caught up in their half-field style."

Midway through the second half, Harvard's offense showed a glimpse of its explosive potential. Junior Rachael Burke gathered the ball at mid-field, swiftly beat a defender and fed Ambinder a lead pass on the right wing. Ambinder carried into the circle and shuttled the ball across to Downing, who completed the textbook play by scoring her second goal of the game. Downing's tally effectively killed Boston College's hopes and Harvard rolled on to its 3-1 victory.

"Its great that we scored this much, because we've had trouble putting the ball in the net," said Downing, "It was a tough game-there were a lot of bounces, but we played better than they did and that's what counts."

Her coach had to agree.

"It's good to have this win after the weekend [a 2-0 loss at Cornell]," Caples said.

A victory over Princeton this Saturday will keep Harvard's Ivy hopes alive. The two teams are currently tied for second place in the Ivy League. The 11:00 a.m. game will be played at Cumnock field.