UMass Shuts Out Women Booters in Quarterfinals

AMHERST--Suddenly it was all over. After 17 games and 100 minutes, one carefully placed shot brought the Harvard women's soccer season to an abrupt halt.

University of Massachusetts freshman Jolie DeTauw drove the ball into the net late in the second half of today's NCAA quarterfinals, giving the Minutemen a 1-0 victory and nailing a spike into the hearts of the Crimson booters.

The goal sent the fourth-ranked UMass (now 14-2-2) to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for next weekend's NCA final four.

The fifth-ranked Crimson (now 14-3-1) have little recourse but to head bane to Cambridge with the knowledge that, in the words of co-captain Jennifer Greeley. "It was quite a team."

Harvard needed, but could not get, a temporary loan of something UMass had in abundance all day--pressure.

The last time the two squads clashed, on October 22, the Minutemen unleashed 37 shots, but many of these were forced from far out, and such was the case today.

Crimson defenders Inga Larson, Joan Elliott, Carilyn Beck and Lori Barry kept the attackers from penetrating the goal area, but nevertheless the shots on goalie Tracee Whitley came in a steady barrage.

Whitley played her usual outstanding defense all day, charging out of the goal and diving to either side to save her team 16 times.

Despite the awesome Minutemen offensive display, however, the first half closed with a 0-0 tie.

But the fragile balance couldn't hold forever, and at 20 minutes into the second half, the first blow fell Greeley fell prey to the curse of this year's soccer captains--injury.

UMass freshman Monica Seta charged Greeley once too often, and she was issued a warning yellow card. But on the ensuing play, the two collided again, and Greeley, who suffered a possible fractured radius of the arm, had to leave the game.

Then, with 10 minutes left in the game, the inevitable occurred.

Speedy Minuteman forward Catherine Spence worked the ball into the center of the field, drawing Whitley out with her.

At the last moment, she passed the ball to her sidekick, Daiauw, who hooked it into the right side of the net past Whitley's lunging dive.

"The shot that went in was nicely placed," Harvard Coach Bob Scalise said after the game.

"It just came down to one great shot, and we didn't have that great shot," added Assistant Coach Lauri Gregg.

Spence, whose skillful manipulation set up that shot, was jubilant after the victory. "We wanted it so bad so we hustled for it" she said.

Indeed, the UMass offense was constantly in motion, while Harvard could not build any sustained offensive drives, failing to make the crisp, precision passes that worked so well for the Minutemen.

The Contabs only managed two shots on goal in comparison to 17 for the Minutemen.

"Who knows what makes a team win on any one day," Greeley said, "If we knew, we would have won today."