UConn Shuts Out Slumping Booters

Just when you thought the Harvard women's soccer team has learned how to win again, it has taken to proving otherwise.

Yesterday's 4-0 humiliation at Connecticut and Saturday's 2-1 upset defeat at Dartmouth show that Harvard still can't find the back of the net against a respectable defense.

The same booters who carried a five-game unbeaten string to Hanover now find themselves 5-3-2 overall (2-1 in the Ivies). The Crimson will have to find a cure for its scoring woes soon, as it hits the road once again Saturday for a critical contest with Ivy contender Princeton.

Fortunately for Harvard, the Tigers should pose fewer problems than the Huskies did. UConn is ranked second in the country, having compiled a 12-0 mark since the Crimson topped it in the final of last year's Eastern Championships.

UConn's defense has shut out 10 of its 12 opponents this year, but it wasn't a lack of scoring opportunities that stopped the Crimson attack. Though the booters managed several excellent combinations they had trouble getting shots and earning corner kicks.

"We just had a hard time getting it to click," Harvard Tri-Captain Kelly Gately said after her squad's second straight setback.

The Huskies earned 12 corners to the Crimson's two, and UConn amassed four times Harvard's total of seven shots on goal.

While the booters suffered from offensive problems, a staunch second-half defense provided hope for future success. The Huskies tallied all their scores in the first stanza, while the Crimson was still adjusting to the loss of sweeper Dubbie Field and goaltender Janet Judge.

Both Field and Judge were injured in Harvard's October 12 tie against Boston College, but Field's head injury wasn't diagnosed as a concussion until after Saturday's battle with Dartmouth.

Crimson Coach Bob Scalise moved Inga Larson to sweeper and brought freshman Chris Lahey in at goal. Just as in the Dartmouth game, Lahey turned in a fine performance, stopping 15 shots. Larson also excelled.

But after changes in key defensive positions, it invariably requires time for the defenders to mold into a new unit--time Harvard couldn't afford against the number-two team in the nation. The Huskies nabbed two scores in 90 seconds, 13 minutes into the game, to capitalize on the Crimson's new defensive combination.

THE NOTEBOOK: The booters lost to UConn during last year's regular season before Harvard's Eastern Championship victory.