W. Lax: A Different Team

Coming off from last year's dream season, the 1991 Harvard women's lacrosse team has a tough act to follow. Finishing the season with an overall record of 15-0, capturing the Ivy League crown (which Harvard has had at least its share of for the last eleven years) and coming back to defeat the University of Maryland in an 8-7 win to capture the NCAA tournament title, 1990's performance leaves one question for this year's team to answer: can it be done again?

The lacrosse world seems to think so. In a recent nationwide pre-season polling of coaches, the Crimson entered at the number one ranking. Harvard players and coaches, however, stress that this year's team is a different team."

"We're a much younger team," senior Co-Captain Lila Rifaat said. "The core group of seniors from last year was a force because a lot of them played together for four years. It was a very well-balanced team. Right now we're in the process of finding the best team to put out on the field. We're starting over with a new crop and focusing on the team as a group not as individuals. We plan to take it one day at a time."

The most pressing task for the coaching staff will be replacing the seven key seniors, including four-time First Team All-Ivy selection and 1990's Player of the Year, All-America defender Maggie Vaughn. The Crimson will also be without the services of All-America attackers Julia French, Char Joslin and Karen Everling. The graduation of these veterans, most of whom were attack players, leaves the team particularly weak on offense. As a result, the lineup has been juggled to experiment with different players in different positions.

"The major problem is who is going to score goals for us," Coach Carol Kleinfelder, who is an impressive 155-50-3 Overall and 60-4-1 in 12 years at Harvard, said. "The loss of Maggie Vaughn is a big loss. But it's just one person. We are trying to fill in the gaps."

The Crimson is looking to its newcomers to fill the void in the scoring game. Seniors Tenley Stephenson and Ceci Kurzman, sophomore Liz Berkerey, and freshmen Sarah Downing and Margot McAnaney will all be counted on to contribute in order to keep Harvard's high scoring tradition alive.

Playing in the shadow of last year's NCAA championship, the newcomers to this team find the legacy a bit overwhelming. When Downing arrived at tryouts a few weeks ago, this pressure was apparent.

"I was definitely intimidated when I came here during tryouts," Downing said. "They won NCAAs last year and everyone seemed so good. Now that tryouts are over I feel more comfortable."

The cluster of veteran varsity players in the backfield will give the Crimson a definite defensive advantage. Junior goalie Sarah Leary is returning to the net after finishing last season with a league-leading 3.33 goals-against-average and .714 save percentage. Seniors Susan Carls, Tracy Hackeling and Rifaat, along with junior Co-Captain Ceci Clark will give Leary experienced support around the net. Juniors Becky Gaffney and Elizabeth Hansen will also play key roles for the Crimson.

"The freshmen will bring some speed and the upperclassmen have the experience of last year's championship," Kleinfelder said. "I want them to use that experience to get the freshmen incorporated into the scheme of things."

'The freshmen' Kleinfelder is referring to are Downing and McAnaney, as well as attackers Joey Alissi and Kim Seidel, and midfielders Emily Buxton, Brooke Earley and Francie Walton.

During its first pre-season tournament at William and Mary two weeks ago, the Crimson's strengths and weaknesses were quickly discovered. According to Rifaat and Clark, the Crimson will try to capitalize on their overall team speed to make up for any lack of skill. Basic skills, positioning and the fast break will be the focus of the team's practice energy.

The Crimson's first real test will come from the University of Pennsylvania next Saturday. However, the main threat in the Ivy League this year will come from Brown and Yale, each of whom lost only a few valuable players to graduation.

"Winning the Ivies is our goal for the year," Kleinfelder said. "If we win the Ivy League we could get a bid [in the NCAA tournament]. I think its double but it's a stretch."