Balanced Laxwomen Beat Brown at Ohiri Field, 13-4

Anyone concerned over the Harvard women's lacrosse team's recent skid can now breathe easier.

The Crimson (9-1 overall, 4-0 Ivy) trounced Brown (7-6 overall, 1-4 Ivy) 13-4 in a rain-soaked contest yesterday at Ohiri Field.

Harvard has now won 14 straight decisions over Brown.

It was a game full of bright moments for Harvard. Not only did the attack awaken from its recent lull, but the defense also came alive, fiercely checking opposing sticks with a vengeance.

"We were more aggressive going to goal--that make a difference," Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder said. "On defense, we were aggressively getting on their sticks."

By spreading the offense, Harvard opened the field up for attack. The Crimson threw sharp passes and capitalized on its speed, blowing by a slow Brown defense.

"We came ready to play--we were really focused," junior Liz Berkery said. We stressed in practice to go to goal if you had the ball. Once one person did it, everyone followed."

Ten different players scored for Harvard . Berkery led the attack once again with three goals and one assist. The Bears were led by junior Anna Saalfield, who tallied two goals.

Sophomore Sarah Downing began the assault 30 seconds into the game. Her score off a free position was the first of seven straight Crimson goals.

Saalfield finally put the Bears on the board with 39 seconds left in the half, sneaking one post goalkeeper Sarah Leary.

For the first six minutes of the second half Brown managed to keep up with Harvard's scoring pace. But the Crimson turned on the jets and burned the Bears with a 4-1 run to close out the game.

Overall, Kleinfelder said she felt satisfied with the victory.

"We did a lot of things better, we weren't as tentative--it's a step in the right direction," Kleinfelder said. "We're still not the same team we were in the beginning of the season, but it's coming."

The loss to Loyola "was a let-down for us--it made us focus more," freshman Megan Colligan said. "We played a lot more as a team today. A lot of people stepped up."

Harvard hopes to build on this victory as it looks ahead to a challenging weekend. The Crimson will host Cornell on Saturday and Old Dominion on Sunday.

After today, the team looks more than ready.

HARVARD, 13-4 at Ohiri Field Brown  1  6  --  13 Harvard  7  3  --  4

G: Brown--Saalfield (2), Lake, Bucal; Harvard--Downing, Berkery (3), Clark, Walton, Hansen, Early (2), Williamson, Gaffney, Colligan, McAnaney. A: Brown--Bartol. Harvard--Burke, Berkery, Hansen, Clark. S: Brown--Haleris, 16; Harvard--Leary, 7.