Female Breakout Athlete Runner-Up: Elaine Belitsos

Junior Elaine Belitsos’ offensive numbers alone wouldn’t lead the casual observer to name her a breakout athlete.

Her 23-goal performance in 2004 was a modest increase from her 16-goal output from 2003. She fell from second in points on the team in 2003 to fifth in 2004. Her shot percentage improved by just .003 in that span.

But Belitsos’ game extends to both halves of Jordan Field.

She led the team with 44 groundballs and 40 draw controls, while finishing second on the squad with 19 caused turnovers.

Her defensive effort was acknowledged as she received Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors for her impressive performances against BU and Penn.

Belitsos recorded six draw controls in the matchup against the Quakers and scooped up three groundballs, following up her performance against the Terriers in which she corralled eight more.

Two weeks after earning that distinction, Belitsos reminded everyone of her offensive prowess, as she lit up Columbia in the penultimate game of the season.

The Lions led the Crimson 6-5 with just under six minutes to go in the first half. But Belitsos responded, scoring twice before halftime, to give Harvard a 7-6 lead at the break. Belitsos added three more in the second half, as the Crimson closed out the contest by netting 10 out of the last 11 goals, en route to a 15-7 win.

“[Belitsos] was all over the field,” said junior midfielder Casey Owens after the Columbia game. “There was no stopping her. She was really heads up and really focused, and she had a lot of great looks and great opportunities.”

It was her second five-goal game of the season, as she also netted five in the matchup with Bucknell, which the Crimson took 18-8. In that contest, Belitsos also finished with four ground balls and two draw controls, a testimony to her two-way ability.

With her offensive prowess already well-established, Belitsos became a breakout player in 2004 due to her ability to take over games on the defensive end.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.