Laxwomen Escape Providence With Victory, 10-7

It wasn't supposed to be this difficult.

The Harvard women's lacrosse team had expected simply to take a quick ride yesterday over to Rhode Island, play Brown, and come home with an easy victory.

Somehow, though, the plan didn't quite work out.

Although the sixth-ranked Crimson (10-2 overall, 3-1 Ivy) ended up escaping with a hard-fought 10-7 win over the Bears, there were moments yesterday when Coach Carole Kleinfelder doubtlessly wished that she and her team had stayed in Cambridge.

"We just did not have a good game in any area," Co-Captain Rachel Burke said. "It was bad all around."

How bad was it? To quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "Let me count the ways..."

The shooting percentage was horrible. The defense allowed Brown easy transition goals. In the midfield, the catching and passing seemed shaky.

"We were very panicked in the first half," Burke said. "It didn't seem like anything was going our way."

Although they never trailed in the contest, Harvard was clearly in danger at halftime of losing to the obviously weaker but highly enthusiasticBrown squad.

The Crimson struggled throughout the first half to stay ahead of the 12th-ranked Bears. After nosing ahead 4-2, Harvard traded goals with Brown to make the score 6-4 at the break.

Any hopes for a quick start in the second half, unfortunately, went down the tubes with a mini-run by Brown.

A few quick Brown goals pulled Harvard into a 7-7 tie early in the second stanza, and Harvard fans began sweating.

Luckily, Co-Captain Liz Berkery, the season-long savior and Harvard's leading scorer for the umpteenth game, stepped up to score a key goal that put Harvard ahead again 8-7. And--finally!--he defense was able to clamp down the rest of the way to preserve the win.

Simple, right? Berkery scores, and the defense shuts down the other team?

Well, maybe the Crimson are satisfied on other days, but not yesterday, when the final margin was only three goals. And not when the NCAA playoffs are only two weeks away.

When asked how the team would deal with this frustrating late-season performance, Burke was cautious.

"Well, it definitely means that we'll have a tough practice tomorrow. And I definitely think that we'll be more intense for the Cornell and Dartmouth games [this weekend]."

Indeed, if one bright spot could be found in this ugly showing, it would have to be Harvard's continuing resilience.

Although the team hasn't been as consistent as it would like for much of this season, it has managed to pile up seven straight victories since early-season losses to powerhouses Princeton and Maryland.

As Burke pointed out, "The good thing about yesterday was that we eventually settled down." w

While Kleinfelder would prefer the Jean Claude van Damme approach--blow opponents out and ask questions later--she can be pleased by the fact that the squad manages to find different ways to win every game.

Score early. Scolre late. Win close games. Win blowouts. The bottom line's the same.

To recall the immortal words of Raider owner Al Davis, "Just win, baby."

For the time being, it looks like the Crimson will oblige.

'We were very panicked in the first half.'

Co-Captain Rachel Burke