W. Soccer Not Overconfident Awaiting Outclassed Cornell

The Harvard women's soccer team looks to continue its winning ways tomorrow when it takes the field against Cornell at Ohiri field.

Entering Saturday's contest, the Big Red (1-5-1, 0-2-1 Ivy)--which is tied for dead last in the Ivy--looks to be in for the fight of its life against the first place and three-time defending Ancient Eight Champion Crimson (5-2-1, 3-0 Ivy).

"This is a very important game for us, especially since it is in the Ivy League," co-captain Emily Stauffer said. "We're very confident in our abilities, and we hope to play well and kill them like we know we can."

Harvard enters the match red-hot, having won all three of its Ivy games on the year while going undefeated in its last five. Behind the leadership and standout play of senior forward Naomi Miller and midfielder Stauffer, the Crimson will look to take control of the contest early against a clearly overmatched Cornell squad.

Miller, defending Ivy League player of the Year, leads the team points on the season with eight, and has netted two game-winning goals on the season, including the clincher last weekend in a 2-1 victory over Penn.

Stauffer, a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year and 1996 All-America selection, is also enjoying a fine season. The all-time Harvard leader in assists leads the Crimson in that category again this season with five, and is tied for second in points with seven.

The Harvard attack is further bolstered by the terrific play of juniors Gina Foster, Beth Zotter and Ashley Berman. The trio has been spectacular this season. Foster is tied for the team lead in goals with three, and has seven points overall. Zotter and Berman each boast five and seven points on the year, respectively.

Defensively, the Crimson has been stalwart. Behind co-captain Devon Bingham, senior Jaime Chu and junior Jessica Larson, Harvard has kept the pressure on opposing offenses.

Senior Jennifer Burney and junior Anne Browning have combined in goal to help the Crimson hold opponents to an average of less than one goal per game.

This does not bode well for a Cornell offense that has been nothing short of atrocious. The Big Red has been held scoreless in six of its seven games this season. The only goals to Cornell's credit came via a 6-0 win over Bucknell, the second game of the season. Since then, however, the Big Red offense has been nonexistent, scoring zero goals in each of its next five matches.

"Although they've struggled on offense, we are definitely not taking them lightly," Stauffer said. "Defense is always our first priority, and our defense is exceptional. We want to deny them the ball and feed it into our offense and hopefully score more goals than we have been."

Although its offense has been completely inept, Cornell's defense has managed to keep the games pretty close, having allowed only two goals in its last three matches. Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Cauzillo was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll last week for her solid play. She will have to be on her game tomorrow, as Cornell figures to see much action on the defensive side of the field.

In a game in which it is favored heavily to win, the Harvard players still know they must remain focused for the game.

"We've been totally focused on this game," Stauffer said. "We always take it one game at a time, never looking ahead, especially for the Ivy League games."

While Cornell does not seem to provide much of a test for the surging Crimson, Harvard will look to build on its unbeaten streak in its quest for a fourth consecutive Ivy League Championship with a win over the Big Red.