Women Booters Scramble by Smith, 3-1

NORTHAMPTION.--The Smith women's soccer team was full of emotion, playing on its home turf. Harvard was looking ahead to Tuesday's very important game with Ivy rival Brown. It could have sold as the perfect upset story. Except the Crimson wasn't buying.

Two first-half goals by Cat Ferrante, giving her a total of five in the last two games, and an insurance tally by Sue St. Louis after intermission carried the Crimson booters past a scrappy Smith squad, 3-1, yesterday afternoon.

Except for a few shaky moments for the Harvard defense--which yielded its first goal of the season on a freak play--the game never seemed as close as the score indicates.

The Crimson outshot Smith, 28-15, freshman goaltender Ann Diamond continued her scoreless string in her first half of play, and the offense set up numberous scoring opportunities, only to be stymied by some tough Smith goaltending.

Ferrante scored her first goal at 23:34 of the opening half, taking a Laura Mayer cross right in front of the goal and flicking it up off the crossbar and into the net.

Less than two minutes laters, Smith goalie Beth Grace made an excellent stop on a St. Louis blast from only about ten yards out.

But Ferrante came back again, receiving a pass from midfielder Gia Johnson and punding a drive from the left side of the penalty area that Grace had on chance to save, to put the Crimson up 2-0 with just five minutes left in the half.

Following halftime, the Crimson defense lost its chance for its fourth straight shutout of the season.

Just 18 seconds into the second half. On what Crimson coach Bob Scalise termed a "questionable call," the referee assessed one of the Harvard fullbacks with a tripping penalty inside the goal area.

Smith forward Martha Gray received a penalty kick opportunity, but Harvard goaltender Dana Warren thwarted the attempt, tipping the ball up and off of the crossbar. The ball took a crazy bounce down in front and before Warren could corral it. Gray booted it past her, cutting the Crimson's lead to 2-1.

Then, at 10:45 of half number two, came the only gloomy news of a very gloomy day for the Crimson.

Ferrante, making a bid for her second consecutive hat trick, charged into Smith's substitute goalie. Joni Bigwood, and injured her left foot in the process.

"I hurt it two days ago in practice--I think it got bruised when someone stepped on it." Ferrante said after the game. "But this time it felt like something pulled."

Shortly after Ferrante's injury, St. Louis outraced the Smith defenders almost from midfield and beat the Smith goalie one-on-one for Harvard's third score at 13:51.

The Crimson missed the smooth midfield and offensive play of junior Laurie Gregg, who sat out because of an as yet undetermined back injury. Scalise rested her for Tuesday's match against Brown, in which she will definitely play.