UConn Devours Field Hockey, 4-1

Going into its game with Connecticut on Tuesday, Harvard's field hockey team knew that it was in for a fight.

Just four days earlier, the Crimson had been dominated by 18th-ranked New Hampshire, losing 3-1.

Connecticut was ranked third in the nation going into Tuesday's match.

Of course, rankings can be off, so the Crimson must have wondered whether its high-profile opponent was up to the hype.

But such wishful thoughts were quickly dispelled once the action got started.

The Huskies simply dominated the Crimson (1-3 overall, 0-0 Ivy) for a 4-1 victory.

"UConn is a very talented team," Harvard Coach Sue Caples said. "They are ranked third and they deserve it."

"They proved that today."

The story of the game was, quite simply, UConn's offense. Throughout the contest, the Husky forwards seemed about two steps quicker than their Crimson defensive counterparts.

And that allowed the Huskies to keep the ball in Harvard's territory for most of the match in addition to setting up UConn's goals.

"We knew they would be fast and strong and explosive," Caples said. "They certainly weren't worse than our expectations."

UConn used its powerful front to score four goals in the first two-thirds of the game.

The Crimson could only counter with one--a dandy by sophomore Daphne Clark--through that period of time and struggled madly to strike back in the last third of the game. But such efforts were to no avail.

The game was all UConn.

Besides continuing the Crimson's slow start to the season, the game raised further questions about the team's defense and its more general ability to compete with the best teams in New England.

"No, I wasn't pleased with how we played today," Caples said. "We need to play better defense."

"We need to step up against teams like this," she said

Caples commented, however, that she was hopeful that the team's level of play will pick up in the future.

"We're playing against the best competition in New England," Caples said. "It will eventually make us better as a team."

"We have to play better," she added. "These next few games will be a real test for our players, how they respond. If we make adjustments, we will be a better team."

Harvard will next be in action on Saturday, and things don't look to get any easier for the Crimson.

The team will be in for another very tough fight, as 17th-ranked Providence will host Harvard in a 1:00 match.