WOMEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK

The midpoint of the women's soccer season has come and gone, and Harvard's forecast for what remains looks bright.

Harvard (6-2-1, 4-0 Ivy) continued to roll over its competition with a 1-0 victory over Cornell (2-6-1, 0-3-1) on Saturday. The Crimson's unbeaten streak now stands at six consecutive matches.

Some things remained constant for Harvard this weekend, and others changed. But nearly all were positive.

While it would be nice to see the Crimson start capitalizing on more of its numerous scoring chances, Harvard's lone goal came in promising fashion.

The Crimson also registered its fourth shutout of the season, and several Harvard players have already started racking up individual accolades.

Great Stauff

It was a glorious sight for supporters of Harvard soccer to see co-captain Emily Stauffer celebrate her goal against Cornell.

The All-American finally broke through, notching Harvard's only score of the afternoon. Stauffer has compiled five assists this year, but she had not found the back of the net since the season opener against New Hampshire.

That changed in the 60th minute against Cornell. Junior midfielder Ashley Berman, who has played brilliantly for the Crimson all year, beat her defender right and drove to the end line where she fired a gorgeous cross across the box.

Senior forward Naomi Miller, who currently leads the Crimson in scoring with 10 points, was waiting in front of the Cornell net and made a sliding touch with her left leg as Big Red goalkeeper Meghan Cauzillo charged her.

Miller sent the ball to the far post, where Stauffer headed the ball high over the lunging Cauzillo. It was her eighth career game-winner.

An exuberant Stauffer celebrated her goal by pointing at her head, indicating the surprising manner in which it came.

"It felt great; I haven't scored in a while, and I've been kind of frustrated," Stauffer said. "It was just a beautiful ball across, and my teammates can tell you I'm the worst header in the world, so it's so exciting to score on a header."

Solid as a Rock

If defense wins championships in soccer as it does in football, Harvard is in good shape to capture its fourth straight Ivy League title. The Crimson may not be finishing its frequent scoring chances as often as it should be, but it is stifling its competition.

Remember the names Jessica Larson, Jaime Chu, Lauren Corkery and Ashley Marynick. These four women not only comprise the unit that smothers opposing offenses, they are also the catalysts for Harvard's overpowering attack, starting the runs into enemy territory.

Junior goalkeeper Anne Browning was relatively untested against Cornell, recording just two saves as the Crimson outshot the Big Red by a staggering 21-3 margin. Still, Browning and senior goalkeeper Jen Burney have been solid in net, both sporting excellent goals against averages of 0.78 and 0.36, respectively.

If one defender merits special recognition, it is Larson. The junior sweeper takes her job literally, cleaning out Harvard's half of the pitch and she made her presence felt all over the filed on Saturday.

Late in the match, Larson took the ball from an unsuspecting Cornell attacker, dribbled deep into the Big Red's defense and fired a shot on goal that went just wide of the net.

"As a unit, [the defense] tries to stay connected to the team," Larson said. "We want to be a supporting option, play the ball through the back and send defenders up to make runs."

To the Victors...

Harvard's talent-laden squad has already begun to receive its share of individual accolades.

Last week freshman forward Colleen Moore was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her goal in the Crimson's 2-1 victory over Penn. Moore's goal, the first of her collegiate career, ended Penn's 729-minute scoreless streak.

The honors continued this week as Stauffer was named the League's Player of the Week for her performance against the Big Red. But she did not stop there.

Already a three-time All-American, Stauffer is once again one of 15 finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Sports Foundation Collegiate Soccer award, which goes to the nation's top American-born or -naturalized player. Also for the second time in her career, she is a finalist for college soccer's other elite individual honor, the Herman Trophy.

Browning made this week's Ivy honor roll based on her play this weekend, and Miller was named the Soccer Buzz Elite Feet Team featured player of the week. Check out the colorful bio on Miller at the Soccer Buzz web site (http://www.soccerbuzz.com/elite/elite_nefram.htm) .