Huskies Storm Cumnock, Silence Stickwomen, 2-0

It was a matter of salvaging a fallen national ranking. It was a matter of proving raw ability on any surface. It was a matter of rebounding off four straight losses.

It was a matter of pride.

But the field hockey team that ran away with the monumental victory yesterday at Cumnock Field wasn't Harvard (3-8-2). Instead, it was Northeastern (12-5-1), which took the field with intensity and blanked the Crimson, 2-0, at Ohiri Field.

"We played sub-par. We needed more emotion," Coach Sue Caples said after the game.

Predominantly a turf team, Northeastern didn't appear to be intimidated by Cumnock's yards of grassy green. In fact, it seemed to thrive on it, devouring the field like so many hungry Holsteins.

The beginning of the game was dominated by the Northeastern squad, which made seven goal attempts in the first half, compared to a single effort by Harvard.

Twenty-five minutes into the first half, Huskie back Sandy Brochu drilled in a shot off the right corner of the penalty box to put Northeastern up 1-0. Senior Co-Captain Shelly Morris assisted the goal.

"We didn't capitalize on our own opportunities," said Crimson Co-Captain Rachel Burke. "We let them recover and they kept coming back."

It looked like a different game at the beginning of the second half when the Crimson regained some of its intensity. Harvard appeared to be ready to rumble, ready to defend its turf.

But at 18:41 into the second half, Brochu spoiled the mood again.

The Huskie senior deflected an assist from teammate Kelly Wilk into the right corner of the goal to up the score to 2-0 in Northeastern's favor.

The remainder of the contest went scoreless, although Northeastern took a total of 14 shots in the second half. Harvard made three attempts at the visitor's goal.

"The minute we backed down, it really made a difference," said Harvard freshman goalie Jessica Milhollin. "They just didn't make many mistakes."

Neither did the Crimson's frosh phenom. Milhollin, who sports an outstanding .900 save percentage in the Ivies, tallied 21 saves for the Crimson.

Look to the Future

Thinking ahead, Burke said there is no reason why the Crimson shouldn't come away with victories in its last two contests of the season.

"We're a much more mature team than we were at the beginning of the year, and not just going to wait for lucky breaks," said the senior forward. "We're just going to have to concentrate, pull it all together and play our game."

Harvard's final home match of the season is this Saturday at 11 a.m., when the Crimson plays Dartmouth.

NORTHEASTERN, 2-0 at Cumnock Field NU  1  1  --  2 Harvard  0  0  --  0

G: NU--S. Brochu 2; Harvard--None. A: NU--S. Moris, K. Wilk; Harvard--None. S: NU--B. Mitchell 6; Harvard--J. Milhollin 21.