W. Soccer's Streak of Bad Luck Continues With Loss at Hartford

The Harvard women's soccer team knew that luck would have to be on its side going into the rough home stretch of its schedule. After all, a little luck was the only thing that separated the Crimson from the No. 13 Hartford Hawks yesterday, in a 2-1 loss.

After its victory over Ivy League rival Princeton, the Crimson (10-6, 4-2 Ivy) was set to play four nationally ranked teams in two weeks. The team was not going to be allowed to coast into the NCAA Tournament.

"We came into the week wanting to take the league game from Dartmouth," said co-captain Brooke McCarthy. "A win against any of the other three non-Ivy teams would have been great for our NCAA standing."

The Crimson lost its first three games going into yesterday's make-up game against the Hawks (16-2), ranked first in the Northeast region.

The loss to the Hawks was Harvard's fourth in a row, its longest losing streak since 1989. The recent skid will make for nervous times when the NCAA Tournament seedings are announced on November 5th. An Ivy League title is all but out of reach.

The Crimson played a controlling game for the full 90 minutes, but came up short. Its strong team play met with some unlucky results.

"We played a very good, intense game today, " McCarthy said. "Coach Wheaton was happy about our play as a team. It came down to one unlucky bounce."

The fatal bounce enabled Hawk sophomore Anika Michaels to score the game-winning goal in the 87th minute. Hartford forward Siv Skard dribbled by two Crimson defenders and blasted the ball by Crimson goalie Cheryl Gunther, striking the post. The ball then took a Hawk bounce, ricocheting into the possession of Michaels. She put it by Gunther, who had made 3 saves on the day, for the game winner.

The speed of the Hawks had been frustrating the Crimson backs throughout the game. The Crimson defense responded well, handling the attack at midfield, but was still outshot 13-8.

"We really played about as well as we can today," junior Caitlin Costello said. "Coach Wheaton told us this is the best game we've played all year. We gave 100 percent, and were just unlucky in the end."

Despite its top-notch play, the Crimson found itself playing catch-up midway through the first half.

Skard was the sparkplug for the Hawks's first goal in the 23rd minute. She fed a pass to fellow Scandinavian Jeanette Akerlund, who beat two Harvard defenders and then fired a near post shot from just inside the six.

Harvard's response to the Hawk goal was indicative of its tough play all game. The Crimson shut down the strong Hartford attack and began to dominate.

"We got right back in there," Costello said. "It was so neck and neck throughout the game."

In the 53rd minute, sophomore midfielder Orly Ripmaster served a ball from the right sideline to Costello, stationed in front of the goal. She flicked a pass on to super sophomore Joey Yenne, who rifled the ball past the outstretched hands of the Hartford goalie for the equalizer.

"Joey did what she usually does. She put one in the goal and put us back in there," Costello said.

Yenne's team-leading tenth goal of the season drew the Crimson even. It would not be enough, as Harvard failed to score for the rest of the half.

"They came out of the back and threw a lot of people at us," McCarthy said. "They were fast, but we fought hard and got back with Joey's goal. The loss is always hard, but we are really happy with our play today."

The Crimson would generate solid chances to score throughout the game, winning a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. Yenne and freshmen Caitlin Fisher and Katie Westfall had created numerous chances to knot the game. Their dominating play made the loss even tougher for the Crimson.

"We did everything right today, so a loss is so hard to take," Costello said. "Our defense was tough, but Hartford is a good team and they won."

Needing help from three teams to win the Ivy race, the Crimson looks toward its important final match against Columbia (4-10-2, 0-6) at Ohiri Field on Saturday. Harvard needs a victory to strengthen its case for NCAA Tournament consideration. A victory seems likely--Harvard is 13-0-1 all-time against the Lions.

"A win against Columbia is crucial," said McCarthy. "It'd be great for our confidence, and hopefully give us a win to build on in the tournament."

The Crimson needs a loss from Ivy leader Princeton, and the winner of the upcoming Brown-Dartmouth game to lose to a lower-tier Ivy team. The Crimson is fourth in the region and in the Ivy. It will need to remain there to receive serious consideration from the selection committee.

Despite the four-game losing streak, Harvard is still in good position to make the field of 48. The losses were, after all, against the No. 7 team in the country and the top three teams in the Northeast region.

The Crimson is solidly anchored at the fourth spot in the Northeast Region rankings. With a 2-1 overtime win against fifth-ranked Boston College and a 3-0 blowout against sixth-ranked Boston University earlier in the season, Harvard's status for an at-large bid should not be threatened.

Yet, the team remains cautious.

"Unfortunately our bid is up in the air," said McCarthy. "Hopefully we can get into the tournament, where we're confident we can play well and get the luck to go our way."

It sure hasn't gone their way this week.