Stickwomen Can't Slip Past Huskies

Coming off a big 2-1 double overtime upset of Princeton this weekend, the Harvard field hockey team was stunned by the offensive force of Northeastern yesterday in Boston.

In its third double OT game in two weeks, the Crimson fought hard against 14th-ranked North-eastern but could not summon enough offense to beat the Huskies and ended up with a taste if its own medicine: a 2-1 OT defeat.

"Today was bad for us," junior Sarah Winters said. "We stayed with them but we weren't playing to win, we were playing not to lose."

Although the Crimson was not favored to beat the Huskies, Harvard (2-2 Ivy, 4-9-2 overall) felt strong after Saturday's stunning victory over 18th-ranked Princeton.

"[Northeastern] is a top 20 team but I thought we matched up well against them," Winters said. "Our offense couldn't get it together. We are a strong team all around and our record doesn't show it."

But the Crimson had only two shots in the game to Northeastern's 15. Harvard scored on its one penalty corner of the game, while Northeastern had 14 such opportunities.

"Our offense did not have an exceptionally strong game," junior Megan Colligan said. "We didn't adjust well or take advantage of all our strengths. We played a strong defensive game but never took it back to them. They kept the ball in our end most of the game."

Belisle said Harvard's mistakes allowed Northeastern too many good scoring chances.

"It was a frustrating game," senior Amy Belisle said. "We gave up too many corners and made lots of stupid errors."

Playing on Northeastern's artificial turf also gave Harvard problems. Turf turns field hockey into a much faster and passing is more difficult because the ball moves much more quickly.

"We fell apart in our passing," Belisle said. "They didn't overpower us. They just passed better and got to the ball faster. Because we were on turf we were always a step behind."

The first half passed without a score from either team. Northeastern tallied first in the second half at the 20 minute mark on a penalty corner. Harvard returned the favor 10 minutes late after co-captain Francie Walton's corner shot rebounded off the goalie to Northeastern's sweeper. She cleared the ball onto Belisle's stick, who put the ball away to tie the game.

"The sweeper was at the post and pushed the ball out to clear it but it went right to me," Belisle said. "It felt like I had a lot of time. I would have felt stupid if it hadn't gone in."

Regulation ended and the two squads were still locked in a 1-1 time, forcing the game into extra periods. After an uneventful first overtime, Northeastern came out strong and rolled over Harvard, finally breaking the draw with a chip over the Harvard goalie for a disappointing finish for the Crimson. On the bright side, the loss has no affect on Harvard's chances for postseason play.

The Crimson has two more league games and must win both to keep itself in the race.