Radcliffe Stickhandlers Fall to Huskies; Defensive Miscues Result in 6-1 Loss

Radcliffe's field hockey team has a new coach and a new out-look this fall but, unfortunately, there is nothing new about its won-lost record.

The 'Cliffe sought to reverse its ways yesterday in Ashland, of all places, but it was Northeastern which found the atmosphere conducive to winning, as the Huskies walked away with an easy 6-1 triumph.

Radcliffe's loss was its second defeat of the fall, to go along with a scoreless tie against SMU (as in Southeastern Massachusetts, not Southern Methodist). The stickhandlers, who posted just one triumph a year ago, are now victoryless in their last four games.

Yesterday, it was a case of too many mistakes and too little team effort. "Northeastern controlled the possession for most of the game," first-year coach Debbie Field said last night, "but we made too many critical mistakes on defense."

The Huskies wasted little time in building a lead, as they struck for three goals in the first half. Radcliffe's Maude Wood, who plays the newly-created position of right link (that's right, the position is right link, as in cuff links), got one of the goals back for Radcliffe before the half, but a two-goal deficit was the closest that the 'Cliffe would come.

The second half brought more of the same. Three Northeastern goals and thirty minutes later, the Huskies had secured their 6-1 win.

Great Goaltending

Northeastern outshot the visitors by a 15-7 margin, and save for the great goaltending of Carlene Rhodes, the final margin might well have been something like 11-1.

"Carlene was probably the outstanding player in the game," Fields said. "She was superb and made some fantastic saves."

Rhodes' performance, though, was hardly enough. "We didn't play well as a team," Field said. "Some individuals played well, but we were too inconsistent."

Co-captain Diana Finch cited Northeastern's aggressiveness as contributing to the loss. "But we're looking forward to a win on Saturday," she said. "Williams is not a jock school. They're more in our league."

Field, however, was more emphatic than her co-captain. "We've got to win next time," she said. And that's all there is to it.