F. Hockey Shoots For Top

They've been to Australia and back. And now they're hopping mad.

The members of the Harvard field hockey team won't allow the Crimson to be classified as a stereotypical, semi-mediocre Harvard sport. The team wants goals, wins and national respect.

The Harvard field hockey team is also coming off a 6-9 season (3-3 Ivy). That contradiction doesn't seem to bother anyone.

"Last year we didn't have a lot of options--we were just able to do fundamentals," Harvard coach Sue Caples said. "[This year] we have a lot of things to throw at teams. People have to work hard to get playing time."

Yes, players on a team that was outscored 36-21 in 1994 will have to work hard to get in games. Harvard's on an upswing, and those that don't buy it will get knocked aside.

Consider the Crimson's trip to Australia after Commencement this summer. The players worked hard to raise funds in the spring, and they spent a week and a half scrimmaging against six Aussie teams.

Caples went as far as to schedule a morning practice before the flight left in the afternoon.

Why not squeeze in the extra session? So what if everyone's going to cramp up for the mega-long flight? When a team strives for an Al Davisian commitment to excellence, a few simple pleasures--like guaranteed playing time--have to go.

The question is, exactly how much excellence will there actually be?

Well, almost certainly more than last year. There was only one senior lost from the '94 team, sweeper Megan Colligan. In Australia, Colligan taught the intricacies of the position to sophomore Beck Stringer--who missed most of last season with a broken foot--and Harvard should be pretty solid there.

Other that, the team is intact. Co-captain Carrie Shumway, who led the Ivy League in scoring last year, will anchor the midfield play. A converted back that can rack up points, Shumway can control the entire field and is certainly a candidate for Player of the Year.

Harvard has other players with multifaceted games. Stringer will be allowed to press upfield if the situation calls for it, and senior Maureen O'Brien and junior Courtenay Benedict are both midfielders that will also lead attacks.

There are also some specialty players. Junior Daphne Clark can blast corner shots all day, and sophomores Sally Romano and Eileen Horwath paired up as the starting left and right backs in 1994. This year, Romano may move to center back to make room for freshman Tara La Sovage.

The other important field players will be forwards Melanie Allen (senior), Jen Bowdoin (sophomore), Liz Schoyer (junior) and Amy DiMarzio (sophomore).

So with the experience, the scoring should increase--but that wasn't the main problem last year. What caused more losses than anything else was the defense.

All of Harvard's nine losses were by two goals or more. Due to lapses, the team gave up bad late goals that turned 2-1 losses into 3-1 blowouts.

Goaltender Jessica Milhollin, the team's other co-captain, had Harvard's best all-time save percentage in 1993 with a .910 mark, but in '94 that fell to .850.

Why the drop-off? In essence, because she was bombarded. Milhollin's 202 saves last year were the most in Harvard history--Horwath's and Romano's youth showed.

"Jessica is a veteran," Caples said. "She's a senior. But the defense gave up too many shots--we need to play better individual defense. [Milhollin] was still making 20 saves a game."

The other cause for concern in the upcoming season will be health. O'Brien led the team in goals as a freshman, but in each of the past two years she sustained injuries.

Last year O'Brien, who was a Sports Illustrated Face in the Crowd as a high school senior, injured her ankle during a 4-2 loss to Boston University. That began a three-game losing streak, including an unforgivable shutout at the hands of a rather mediocre William and Mary squad.

In the fall practices so far, the only bang-ups have been a bad back for Horwath and broken thumb for Stringer. Even so, both are scheduled to play in the opener on September 8, which is at Rhode Island.

The Competition

Princeton is the defending champion, but the Tigers also lost the most to graduation. Two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Liz Fagan and unanimous All-League selection Amory Rowe have both graduated. Sophomore Amy MacFarlane, who has been first team All-Ivy in each of her two seasons, will take the year off to play for the Canadian National team.

But Princeton still has super attacker Lisa Rebane and a pair of second team All-Ivy players: goaltender Liz Hill and forward Skye Delano-Nuttal. Hill led the league in save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (0.50).

Of the teams that are trying to wrest the title away, Dartmouth and Penn have the best shots along with Harvard. Dartmouth's only graduate was first-team All-Ivy goaltender Lauren Demski, and the Big Green return back Cynthia Roberts and potent scoring threat Allison Pell. However, the team must still cope with the tragic July suicide of captain-elect Sarah Devens.

Penn, meanwhile, started the season 6-1-1 but finished 9-5-1. Of course, four of those losses were to Top 20 teams. The Quakers lost three-time first-team All-Ivy midfielder Amy Pine, along with fellow first-teamer Mandy Kauffman. Leading the returnees will be forward Kara Philbin and back Sue Quinn.

The good news for Harvard is that Princeton and Penn come up to Cambridge. The Quakers come to town on October 7, and the Tigers follow on October 21--both Saturdays. Harvard travels to Dartmouth on November 4.

FIELD HOCKEY

Record: 6-9

Ivy League: 3-3

Coach: Sue Caples

Captains: Jessica Milhollin '96, Carrie Shumway '96

Key Returnees: Maureen O'Brien '96, Sally Romano '98

New Face: Beck Stringer '98, Tara La Sovage '99

Key Loss: Megan Colligan '95