Radcliffe Field Hockey Squad Crushed by Northeastern, 6-1

The Radcliffe varsity field hockey team suffered a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Northeastern yesterday as it opened its season at Soldiers Field.

The aggressive Husky squad dominated the game the entire 60 minutes behind the four-goal performance of star forward Cyndy Casey.

The experienced Northeastern unit's superior physical condition took its toll late in the going, when the Huskies stopped Radcliffe's attempts to muster an offense again and again.

With only four starters returning from last year, coach Pippy O'Conner's troops entered the contest an unknown quantity. For the first half, though, the "green" gave the Huskies a good battle.

After Northeastern struck first with two quick goals, left-winger Eve Gardner put Radcliffe back in the game. Gardner scored on an assist by Karen Linsley with 14 minutes elapsed in the first period.

But the stubborn Huskies bounced back a minute later with another scoring strike, and the half ended with Radcliffe behind 3-1.

The second half was all North-eastern's--the Huskies tallied three additional goals and shut out the hosts to seal the 6-1 decision.

O'Conner said afterwards she was pleased with her team's first-half performance, especially the play of veteran center halfback Nancy Sato and sophomore veteran forward Karen Linsley.

O'Conner said that the final score is a false indicator of Radcliffe's potential because the team has had spotty attendance at practice sessions.

"The academic pressure is so high here that all of the girls cannot come to practice all the time," O'Conner said.