W. Soccer Boosts Confidence at Penn

After a confidence-building 2-0 victory against Pennsylvania in Philadelphia Friday, the Harvard women's soccer team is thinking ahead to the Ivy title.

The win brought the Crimson (4-3 overall, 2-1 Ivy) over the .500 mark. Against Penn, Harvard's defense proved itself again with its third shutout of the season. Of even greater importance, Harvard's offense began to click.

Sophomore forward Libby Eynon said she thinks the Crimson's victory over Penn shows that the team is progressing well. She thinks Harvard is now in the running for the Ivy title.

"Our defense is really good. Even though we lost to Brown, we play well and we're in a good position," Eynon said.

Freshmen Excited

The freshmen on the team are particularly excited about the possibility of winning an Ivy title in their first season. "Our team goal is to win the Ivy. We're looking forward to getting some rings," freshman forward Katey DeLellis said.

Co-Captain Sharon Olken pointed out the difficulties the team still faces if it hopes to win the title. She said that Harvard is working on improving its transition from defense to offense.

"We still have a good chance of being in the race, if we win the rest of our games," the Cabot resident said. "We have talented players, but we tend to rush on offense. We need to get the ball into the net. We have a hard time building up to that."

The Crimson will face Ivy leader Cornell (5-2 overall, 3-0 Ivy) Saturday. Harvard is scheduled to play Dartmouth, currently second in the league with a 2-0 Ivy record (3-3 overall), in the last game of the season.

Penn Game

Against Penn, Harvard's problem with the transition game disappeared, as the Crimson was able to set up its attack more easily.

"Penn had a much more low-pressure defense. We could relax and think about what to do with the ball," Olken said.

Harvard certainly did not dominate Penn. The statistics are fairly even all around: Harvard had 11 shots, Penn 10; Harvard 5 saves, Penn 6. But the Crimson's strong defense proved the difference, holding back Penn's attack while Harvard's offense went to work.

Harvard scored its first goal at 43:40 of the first half, when DeLellis assisted Eynon.

The insurance goal came at 24:20 of the second, when senior forward Laurie Uustal scored at unassisted goal.

HARVARD, 2-0 at Franklin Field HARVARD  1  1  --  2 Penn  0  0  --  0

G: Penn--None; Harvard--Katey DelLellis, Laurie Uustal. A: Penn--None; Harvard--Libby Eynon. S: Penn--6; Harvard--Donahoe 5.