Women Booters Blank Yale in Key Ivy Contest, 2-0

The Harvard women's soccer team came out running yesterday to trounce Yale, 2-0, and advance to the last step in the race for an Ivy co-championship.

The Crimson (now 7-2-3, 3-1-1 Ivy) established control early with goals from Karen Garibaldi and Karin Pinezich. Just five minutes into the game, Garibaldi headed a sailing pass from teammate Wendy Zeeben into the Eli net for the first goal.

"It was nice to score early," Captain Garibaldi said. "It took a lot of pressure off."

Soon after the first goal, the booters struck again. Julie Sasner hit Pinezich with a through ball and Pinezich went on to beat the Yale goalie for the second Crimson tally.

"I just saw [Pinezich] streaking," Sasner said. "She took it from there, making a good shot off the angle."

After securing primacy, the Crimson played a solid defense. Harvard consistently beat Yale to the ball and and stole the ball away from the slow-moving Elis.

Although Yale played an offside game by pulling up their defense, only five offside calls were made against the Harvard strikers. The Crimson offense continued to generate scoring situations and dominate the play, but failed to tally after the first two goals.

The Elis sustained their offside strategy through the second half. But the Crimson's failure to score in the period can be attributed more to the security of its 2-0 lead than to the visitors' defensive tactics.

"I had other chances," Pinezich said, "but since we scored early I took the pressure off myself."

Nevertheless, Coach Bob Scalise praised his squad's ball control and united team effort. "We maintained control," Scalise said. "The game was never too much in doubt."

Crimson Assistant Coach Tim Wheaton shared the enthusiasm of Scalise: "It was good to see a lot of different people taking shots," he said. "We have been working well together."

Wheaton also credited the "control" and "smart Play" of the Harvard midfielders. The Elis clogged the center of the field in an effort to break up Crimson passing, but the midfielders initiated several carries up the sidelines.

Harvard's recent success is evidence of a crest of confidence which could carry the booters into a tie for the Ivy League championship. The Crimson hosts Brown at Ohiri Field Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

A win over the Bruins would move Harvard into a tie for first place in the Ivies--and could also advance the Crimson's national rank, putting it in contention for a berth in the post-season NCAA tournament.