Fans Rally for Crimson

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--Harvard fans are a funny breed--you never know what games they'll show up to and how vocal they will be. For the most part, Harvard students are criticized for not cheering their teams enough, but that was not the case in the Harvard-North Carolina quarterfinal game of the NCAA women's soccer tournament last Saturday down in Chapel Hill. A loyal contingent of Harvard fans and parents made the trek all the way to Chapel Hill, paid the steep $7 ticket price and loudly voiced their support of the Harvard team.

While the Crimson contingent was no match compared to the UNC fans, who lead the country for the third consecutive year in home attendance, University of North Carolina Head Coach Anson Dorrance had this to say:

"We felt a real surge from our fans today. I think maybe it was because Harvard brought a wonderful collection of vocal supporters, and maybe our fans thought they were competing with them," Dorrance said. "I thought the Harvard group did a great job supporting their group."

Harvard fans rarely get that kind of a compliment.

High Standards

Just how much of a scare did Harvard give UNC last Saturday by virtue of being down only a goal? UNC has established itself as such a dominant, winning program that they are not used to games being that close--especially from an Ivy League team.

"We like to set high standards for ourselves," said senior forward Robin Confer. "The team thought we shouldn't have to struggle so much against them, but we have to give credit to Harvard, they played us really well and with a lot of heart--they're a great team."

"I was talking to the TV/news media after the game and they were saying coming over to our bench following the game was like someone had died, yet here we are off to the Final Four," Dorrance said. "I guess they're not permitted to win anymore--they have to do it in glorious fashion."

NCAA Appearances

The Harvard women's soccer team isn't exactly a stranger to the NCAA tournament, but it's been a long time since they've made it as far as the quarterfinal round. Not since 1982 has the Crimson advanced as far as the quarterfinal when it lost to Missouri-St. Louis, 2-1. The Crimson's other three NCAA matches occurred in 1984, when Harvard was downed by UMass, 2-1, in the Eastern Regional Championship; in 1994, when Harvard lost 3-0 to UMass in the first round; and in 1996, when Harvard suffered a triple-overtime, own-goal 2-1 loss to UMass.

Quarterfinal Results

In other Division 1 women's soccer quarterfinal matches, Notre Dame massacred UCLA, 8-0, and Santa Clara defeated Clemson, 3-0, on Saturday. Yesterday, William & Mary fell to Connecticut, 4-0. The semifinal matchups of North Carolina vs. Santa Clara and Notre Dame vs. Connecticut will take place at Greensboro, North Carolina this Friday, Dec. 5. Tickets are reportedly sold out for the North Carolina game.