Crimson Loses to Penn In Ivy-League Opener On Five-Game Road Tour

The women's lacrosse team Saturday dropped its Ivy opener, 8-6, to the University of Pennsylvania.

The laxwomen grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first half as Jenny White, one of the seven freshmen who made this year's varsity, proved that youth is no handicap as she scored the contest's first goal.

Penn retaliated with three goals of their own to tie the match 3-3, before sophomore Ann Macmillan put the Crimson ahead 4-3 with the first third of her hat trick.

Reverse

But Penn turned things around in the second half. The Quakers turned a 4-3 trail into a 7-4 lead by scoring the next four goals, and Harvard never recovered.

Impressive

Co-Captain Stefi Baum and Ann Velie put in outstanding defensive performances. Velie had seven ground-ball possessions to keep up her seven-per-game average while Baum pulled off a show-stealing seven interceptions.

Goalie Charlotte Worsley, who played part of the first game with a cast on her hand, was replaced by Nancy Boutillier, who has blocked more than half the shots taken on her although she never played lacrosse before this year.

The game puts the laxwomen at 1-4, and 0-1 in the Ivy League.

Get the Worm

"We met our competition pretty early," coach Carole Kleinfelder said about the team's first five games, adding that the Crimson has already faced national contenders such as Ursinus--possibly the top team in the country. Harvard's major problem, Kleinfelder pointed out, is that "our attack is really not together yet."

Either Or

Kleinfelder said she believes the Ivy title will go to either Harvard or Penn, but Yale may also prove a top contender. She added that the team will bet much stronger as the season progresses--partly because the large number of freshmen will have gained experience by then.

Francesca DenHartog leads the team in scoring with seven goals. Laura Dibonaventur and Wistie Oppenlander have dumped in four goals each. Women's Lacrosse Temple 11  Harvard 9 Touson State 7  Harvard 11 U. of Maryland 8  Harvard 4 Ursinus 13  Harvard 5 Penn 8  Harvard 6