Taylor Tallies Two In Crimson Win

Twice she stood there, waiting calmly like the old pro she's not.

Twice she blasted the ball into the net like the young star she is.

With those two quick flicks of the wrist, Harvard's Bambi Taylor gave the Crimson field hockey squad a 2-1 triumph over Springfield on Soldiers Field yesterday.

And on those two penalty strokes--with a Springfield goal in the middle--Taylor stole the show, beating Chief goalie Carole Kinsella both times with extreme ease.

"That was her best game yet," Crimson Coach Edie Mabrey said of her sophomore sensation's performance. "She's gotten better and better every game."

Eclipsed by Taylor's dazzling performance, though, was the impressive play of the entire Harvard squad Just days after it had dropped its most disappointing loss of the season--a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Brown--the Crimson responded with one of its finest efforts of the year, all in a game that had as much significance as National Grandparents' Day.

Just about the only things yesterday's non-league win did was assure the Cantabs of their second consecutive winning season and reassure them that they're not any where near as bad as the loss at Brown would have you think.

Now 8-6, the Crimson will quickly turn its attention towards a game that has rapidly become the squad's most important in recent history. When Harvard meets Yale Saturday in its regular season finale, the Crimson will face a must-win situation if it is to force a playoff with Penn for the Ivy title.

The last time Harvard and Penn met, Harvard snagged a 3-1 victory, after an attempt to put away that game in the first few moments failed when Taylor missed on a penalty stroke.

Yesterday, however, the Delaware native missed nothing.

When she lined up one-on-one with Kinsella for the first stroke--24:43 into the game--she brought with her a confidence that has become Taylor's trademark. The blistering shot she drove into the upper right-hand corner of the net gave Harvard a 1-0 lead and the feeling it was on its way to an easy win.

But a Crimson defensive letdown with just 3:52 left in the first allowed the Chiefs to knot the score and set the stage for Taylor's second half heroics.

When Kinsella was called for illegally blocking the ball. Taylor once again lined up head to head with the Chief goalie--this time just 3:34 into the second half. When the Crimson star put the ball exactly where she had the first time, Harvard had clinched its 2-1 win.

"It worked well the first time," Taylor said of her shot, "so I figured I'd just play on her weakness again the second time."

THE NOTEBOOK: For the record. Harvard out shot Springfield, 11-3. Crimson goalie Juliet Lamont recorded four saves, Kinsella nine. Springfield is now 5-11-2. Saturday's game is set for 2 p.m. in New Haven.