Francesca DenHartog

Francesca DenHartog knew she had two places to be September 20: at the opening day of classes at Harvard and on a lacrosse field in Nottingham, England, 3000 miles across the Atlantic.

The 20-year-old senior didn't hesitate in making her choice, and on that last day of summer, DenHartog was in England practicing with the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Touring Team.

She returned to Cambridge, Mass. last week, a little bit behind on classwork but pleased with the results of her intercontinental field trip. The U.S. team won the First Annual Women's Lacrosse World Games, largely as a result of DenHartog's sparkling play.

Harvard fans are used to DenHartog's dominating style, but the youngest competitor on the national squad surprised some teammates. "She played superbly," U.S. Assistant Coach JoAnn Harper said this week of the tall, slim attacker. "I don't think there's anyone around who is better in front of the net than Francesca."

"I'm really glad I made the trip," DenHartog said modestly. "The victory made it that much sweeter."

Big Gun

A two-time Ivy League Player of the Year. DenHartog led all Americans in scoring with 14 goals and four assists in six games. The U.S. beat Australia, 10-7, on September 25 to clinch the championship.

After training for the entire summer specifically for the World Games, the Phippsburg, Me. native joined her teammates in England for an intitial encounter with the tough Australian national squad.

"We were all pretty nervous," she recalled, describing a two-goal personal performance but 7-4 team loss. "It just took a little time for us to get rolling," she added.

But once the American unit had some game experience it ran over the rest of its opposition like a steam roller. The Americans crushed Canada, England, Scotland and Wales in the four days following the Australia match.

"We had an extremely tough attack that proved to be too powerful for the other teams," DenHartog said. "It was a total team effort."

The four victories earned the 16-member U.S. squad a spot in the final: a rematch with the powerful Aussies.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Nottingham, the Americans and Australians played a final that will certainly remain a classic long after the next World Games final, which will be held in 1985 in Philadelphia.

"We wanted to win the game really badly," DenHartog said. "First, for the United States, secondly for ourselves and thirdly because we could not stand the thought of losing to the Australians twice. We wanted to kill them."

However, some other people also came ready to kill, or at least to win. Australia jumped out to a 6-1 halftime lead.

Behind an aggressive offense and strong defense, the Americans rallied to tie the score at seven, and the game moved into overtime. The U.S. team extended its streak into the bonus periods, scoring three unanswered goals, and walking with the trophy.

"It was just a remarkable comeback that took a total effort from everyone," Harper said.

Relieved Exhaustion

"Six games in six days was totally exhausting," DenHartog said. "But that final victory in overtime made it all worth it." She had trained at Harvard on her own from June through July before joining the team for additional pre-tournament workouts.

In addition to the conditioning and glory, DenHartog described the advantages of playing on a national squad. "Most of the players were about 25 and out of college and looking for work I certainly learned a great deal not only about lacrosse but also about life, it was just a great experience."

Of the immediate future, DenHartog said she may stay away from the field for a while.

"I've been playing lacrosse almost every day since January," she explained with a smile "I'm kind of burnt out, and besides, I want to get back into the academics."

DenHartog with most of the Crimson lacrosse records under her belt, plans to remain active on the U.S. team, which will play several exhibitions over the next few years.

"Tryouts for a new 40-member U.S. team will be held in January," she said "And right after that we'll start practice here for the Harvard team."

Clearly, a short break will not tempt the Harvard superstar to abandon the craft she has perfected since childhood. She recounted her introduction to the game: "My brother played lacrosse in high school One day he put a stick in my hand and started winging balls at me I had nothing to do but catch them if I wanted to stay alive."

As the international lacrosse community now knows, Francesca DenHartog did more than just survive that backyard practice session.