Stickwomen Shock Sixth-Ranked Minutemen 1-0

The very same Harvard field hockey squad that earlier this month dropped as straight shutout losses yesterday dropped a pretty big hint that it's no longer the very same team.

On the strength of just one Bambi Taylor flick of a wrist, the Crimson dropped the nation's sixth-ranked University of Massachusetts squad, 1-0, and gave itself the shot in the arm it's been looking for since season's start.

With its first-ever victory over UMass, Harvard sent notice all the way to Hanover, N.H. that the Cantabs might just make a game of it when the Crimson and Dartmouth tangle there Saturday in a crucial Ivy showdown.

"They're not going to believe their eyes when they open the newspapers and see this score," Harvard Coach Edie Mabrey said of the folks in Hanover.

"We're now going to Dartmouth with our heads held high."

So just like that, the one-goal shocker seemed to erase the pain of the last month's six straight shutout losses and propel the squad into the finest of moods at the most opportune of times.

The winner of Saturday's game will become the favorite to cop the 1984 Ivy League title, a crown that would be Harvard's first.

That fact didn't escape the Crimson squad, nor did the fact that yesterday's victory was the first over the Minutemen in the Harvard program's 12-year history.

"We waited a long time for this," Harvard's senior Co-Captains Andy Mainelli and Ellen O'Neill said almost in unison.

Ironically, it was also the first time all year that the Cantabs didn't outplay the opposition. Consider for a second that:

*UMass led Harvard in shots on goal, 27-7

*UMass led Harvard in penalty corners, 18-4

*UMass led Harvard in long corners, 4-0

But then consider that it was also one of the few times all year that the Cantabs came out on top. And after the lesson of six straight shutout losses, there was little doubt which was more important.

"After all we've been through, it's about time we won a game when we didn't control the stats," said Mabrey, whose squad broke its six-game losing streak last Saturday with another 1-0 win, over Cornell.

Few would have guessed, though, that the Crimson (now 4-6 overall, 1-1 Ivy) would record back-to-back wins for the first time since its two season-opening victories a month ago, especially considering who was in town.

The sixth-ranked Minutemen entered averaging more than three goals a game and holding a mighty impressive 10-2 record.

"We knew what they were capable of," O'Neill said.

UMass just didn't know what the Crimson was capable of.

The squad that many considered the finest in Harvard field hockey history at season's start finally put together a solid defensive showing, and managed to record an impressive goal along the way.

Equally impressive was the play of Harvard freshman goalie Kristen Abely, who continues to improve--and impress--every time she takes the field.

Under constant assault from the sharp-shooting Minutemen, Abely turned away 14 UMass rockets to record her third shutout of the year and second in a row.

"I've been playing with a lot more confidence in these past two games," said Abely, whose teammates echoed that sentiment. "It's taken awhile for the defense to come together, but I think we've done it."

The Yardling got some strong help from the entire defense, which turned in what Mabrey called its best game of the year. More specifically, though, she got some terrific help from Mainelli, who shadowed UMass's high-scoring Pam Moryl all afternoon.

On the other end of the field, the Minutemen held the hosts in check, and if not for one quick Crimson flick of a wrist, the visitors might have left town with a scoreless tie.

Taylor averted that hope, however, when she took a feed from Mainelli midway through the second half, juked the UMass defender with an inside move, and then blasted the ball into the twines for the game-winner.

Harvard held off a late UMass rally, and that in turn set off a wild Crimson celebration that O'Neill promised would last at least a few days.

Or at least until Saturday.

THE NOTEBOOK: Junior Linda Run started her first game in several contests yesterday, turning in a performance that's almost bound to keep her in the starting lineup.