Laxwomen Down B.C.

CHESTNUT HILL--Lacrosse fans who look only at the scoring column will note that Harvard women's attacker Liz Berkery could have singlehandedly beaten Boston College here last night.

Berkery, who has netted an astounding 26 goals in eight outings this season, lit up an already lit up Alumni Stadium. The sophomore standout tallied a season-high six goals, as Harvard rolled over the listless Eagles, 13-5.

The red-hot Crimson's first road game since March 30 translated into its fourth-straight win. Harvard (6-2 overall) is currently ranked eighth in the nation, with losses to New Hampshire and fourth-ranked Maryland.

"Our attack was moving well and that opened things up," Berkery said. "That's what let me score. Everyone had really good chances."

For Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder, it may have been the seven goals that Berkery didn't score that were most pleasing. First-year midfielders Sarah Downing and Francie Walton, and junior attacker Buffy Hanson each chipped in two goals in what was perhaps Harvard's most balanced offensive effort of the season.

As the Crimson heads into the heavy part of its season schedule--including matchups this weekend against 12th-ranked Loyola and 14th-ranked Temple--it was reassuring for the coach to see a plethora of Harvard players fire the ball into the back of the twines. After all, in lacrosse, scoring depth more than anything else usually translates into success.

"Liz Berkery had a great game and everyone got some confidence," Kleinfelder said. "It was nice having everyone get into the scoring column."

The Crimson put B.C. away early, taking a commanding 7-0 lead with just over eight minutes left in the first half. Berkery paced the Harvard offensive rally, putting four shots by beleaguered Eagles netminder Laura Biggs.

As Harvard's lead grew, the Crimson defense slacked off a bit. Eagles attackers Jennifer Barone, Diane Cashman and Alexandra Denney each beat Harvard goaltender Sarah Leary to cut the Crimson lead to 7-3 at halftime.

"It was hard to play good defense because we had the ball most of the time and got a little lazy mentally on defense," Harvard Co-Captain Ceci Clark said.

After the intermission, the two teams traded goals, as Berkery scored for Harvard then Denney tallied for B.C. But then, the Crimson defense picked up its intensity, shutting the Eagles down for the remainder of the contest.