Flying Like An Eagle

With her team pushed to the brink, freshman Angie Francisco rose to the occasion.

After the Harvard women's hockey team lost to Dartmouth, 5-2, on Saturday, the Crimson faced a dire situation. Harvard's hopes of qualifying for the postseason seemed dim at best heading into Sunday's game against Boston College.

But Francisco, who had scored her 19th goal of the season in the third period against Dartmouth, simultaneously broke a record and kept Harvard's playoff hopes intact against B.C. Francisco scored two goals and assisted on two more to pace the Crimson to a 6-4 victory over the Eagles.

In doing so, the forward from Duluth, Minnesota surpassed sophomore Tammy Shewchuk, who is currently on leave, to set the Harvard single-season scoring mark with 21 goals and 33 assists, for 54 points. Last year, Shewchuk totaled 38 goals and 15 assists, for 53 points.

Francisco's heroics enabled Harvard to gain a tie with St. Lawrence for the eighth and final playoff spot. As the Crimson heads into its final two games, against Princeton and Yale this weekend, the task ahead may seem difficult. Making it less imposing, however, is the presence of a freshman whose stellar performance last weekend can only portend even better things to come.