W. Soccer Hosts Dartmouth for Ivy Title

The Harvard women's soccer team will have more than goblins and ghouls to deal with this Halloween. There is a Big Green machine coming to Cambridge, and it has a showdown scheduled with the Crimson.

No. 22 Harvard (10-3-1, 5-0 Ivy) will battle No. 7 Dartmouth (13-1-1, 5-0) tomorrow at 11 a.m. on Ohiri Field in both teams' most important match of the year. The winner will clinch the Ivy League title and the accompanying automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"This is what you play for," said Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton. "One game, and you have to do the job. We've been here before, we're used to it and we want it badly."

Harvard, winner of 32 of its last 33 Ivy games, has been in a similar situation in each of the past two years, when it defeated Brown late in the season to clinch the Ivy title. Harvard is currently the three-time defending Ivy champion.

Dartmouth, however, may be Harvard's biggest test yet. The Big Green has definitely earned its No. 7 national ranking and its No. 2 regional ranking in the Northeast by outscoring its opponents 38-7 and outscoring its Ivy opponents 21-1. The Big Green is just three goals shy of the Ivy record for most goals in a season held by the 1994 Brown team.

Dartmouth's prolific offense is led by two-time Ivy Player of the Week, junior midfielder Melissa Roth. Roth has recorded eight goals and six assists this season for 22 points, the second best in the Ivies. Sophomore forward Jen Murray is also having an excellent year for the Big Green with six goals and five assists.

However, Harvard--currently ranked No. 4 in the Northeast--boasts what is arguably the best defense in the Ancient Eight. The Crimson's unit of junior sweeper Jessica Larson, senior backs Jaime Chu and Ashley Marynick, sophomore back Lauren Corkery and junior back Gina Foster has allowed just two goals in Ivy games this season.

"I believe we have the best defense in the league, but Dartmouth has found ways to score this year from a lot of people," Wheaton said. "They've done the job and put the ball in the back of the net, but our defense is up for the challenge."

With Harvard's defense clashing against Dartmouth's offense, the match could turn into a battle of goalkeepers. If that occurs, fans should be in for a treat. The Big Green's Kristin Luckenbill and the Crimson's Anne Browning have been the two best keepers in the league this year.

Luckenbill has not allowed a goal in Ivy play, and she sits atop the league's list of statistical leaders with a perfect save percentage. But Browning is number two on that list with an .875 save percentage. Browning also has an additional year of collegiate experience over Luckenbill, a factor that could come into play in a game of this magnitude.

"There's going to be a lot of organizing," Browning said. "[Larson] is outstanding at getting everyone together, and we've been working very well together. We have to be thinking a step ahead."

Despite all the attention being paid to Dartmouth's high-scoring offense, Harvard has done a pretty good job of outscoring its opponents as well.

Co-captain and All-American Emily Stauffer is currently Harvard's leading scorer and is tied for third in the league with five goals and eight assists. Defending Ivy Player of the Year Naomi Miller has also found the back of the net often; the senior forward has five goals and six assists on the year, including four game-winning tallies.

The Crimson also boasts a trio of talented juniors who are dangerous anywhere on the field. Beth Zotter, Ashley Berman and Foster each have tallied three goals this season.

Yet Harvard has not decimated its opponents this year as Dartmouth has. The Crimson has dominated most of its foes in possession and scoring chances, but it has only scored more than two goals twice this season.

"We have yet to prove that we can bury a team," Browning said. "We've done a lot of outplaying this year but not a lot of outscoring."

"We've scored enough to win, but we certainly haven't done anything beyond that," Stauffer said. "But you just need enough goals to win."

Harvard's dearth of scoring is largely due to its style of play. The Crimson patiently works the ball through the back and has its defense start most of its runs, thus generating good spacing, sharp passing and strong shooting. Harvard's three losses and one tie all came in games in which the Crimson abandoned this method.

Moreover, Harvard's three losses are all to top-25 teams--No. 3 Connecticut, No. 8 Penn State and No. 15 Hartford. That may be a bad sign for the Crimson, considering Dartmouth's ranking, but the Big Green's loss also came against its only nationally-ranked opponent, No. 9 William & Mary.

"[Dartmouth] is obviously having a great season, and that is to their credit," Stauffer said. "But we play them every year, and we know what they can do. To us they're just Dartmouth."

Harvard and Dartmouth have faced eight common opponents this season, including Hartford. The Big Green is undefeated in those matches, while the Crimson is 6-1-1.

Despite the excellent offenses that will take the field tomorrow, several Harvard players said they expect the match to be a low-scoring showdown. Should a defense-driven contest emerge, it might favor the Crimson.

"Our defense is excellent; they're incredible soccer players," Stauffer said. "When they have a great game, we have a great game."

Because both Harvard and Dartmouth have been ranked in the top 25 for the entire season, it is likely that both teams will qualify for the NCAA Tournament regardless of tomorrow's outcome. But a win by the Crimson tomorrow would translate into a higher regional ranking, a higher national ranking and a higher seed in the Tournament.

If that is not incentive enough, the Harvard seniors also have their 32-1 Ivy record to defend, not to mention their string of three consecutive Ivy League championships.

"Since preseason, our goal has been to win our fourth straight Ivy title," Browning said. "We see tomorrow's game as an all-or-nothing situation. Both teams have played very strong this year, so it should be one hell of a match."