Determined to Make Memories

She may not be big and she may not be strong, but she sure can play soccer.

Fullback Lori Barry has the key ingredients that make her one of the dominating players on the Harvard soccer team. Barry has led the defense to a winning season in 1987. And the best may still await the nationally ranked Crimson.

Barry, a senior from Pittsburgh, first became interested in soccer when she was seven years old and living in Dallas.

"In Texas everyone played soccer, and there were lots of teams for girls my age," Barry says.

But when Barry moved to Pitsburgh, soccer teams for young girls were more difficult to find. Her mother started a league so she and her sister could continue their soccer careers, and from then her career soared.

Barry continued playing for Fox Chapel High School before earning a starting position on the Crimson squad her first year at Harvard.

Barry's rookie campaign was a memorable one, because that was the year the booters were ranked fifth in the nation and upset top-ranked UMass, surprising themselves as well as the Minutewomen.

But the Crimson's good fortune did not spill over to Barry's sophomore year. The road was a bit rocky for Harvard, which slipped from 14-3-1 in 1984 to a disappointing 5-8-3.

"We lost a lot of the team [from her freshman year] and we had some team and coach problems," Barry says.

By her junior year, the team was getting along better, but this season is shaping up to be more special than the others.

"It seems to be more serious than last year," says Barry. "The team has gotten serious and competitive. The people out here are not athletes who can play soccer well, but are just soccer players."

Barry is one of those soccer players.

"She's crafty out there," says Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton. "She's a very smart and tough player, someone you can depend on."

After working out during the summer in hope of making her senior year her best, Barry was forced to take a seat on the bench on the second day of pre-season because of a muscle pull and various other nagging injuries.

As a result, Barry's early season play was limited. A three-year starter on the Harvard squad, Barry's only support in the first three games came from the sidelines.

In her first game back, Barry helped lead the Crimson to a victory over Holy Cross. At wingback--a position somewhat strange for an offensive-type player like Barry--she is a key member of the defense. But Barry doesn't seem to mind.

"Defense is awesome," says Barry. "You can always count on the defense to give it their all."

"Lori doesn't let anybody down," says fellow fullback Andrea Montalbano. "She's always positive and a very solid player which is great to play next to."

"She's a super player," says Wheaton. "Lori's been asked to do something she's not used to doing. Other coaches would put her in a more offensive role, but she's a person who can do both well."

So far this season, Barry has been giving Harvard the support it has needed to make it one of the top teams in the East. She has helped lead the 11th-ranked Crimson to an impressive 6-1-3 record. Barry has been instrumental in keeping the attack on goalie Co-Captain Tracee Whitley to a minimum. Until Tuesday's loss to UMass, only one goal had been scored upon the Crimson.

As a four-year veteran of the team, Barry has been a leader and someone to depend on.

"A lot of players get attention," Wheaton says. "Others, like Lori, you can just throw them on the field and always depend on them. It's a real comfort for a coach to know you have someone giving 100 percent all the time."

An aggressive and gutsy palyer, Barry can often be found covered from head to toe in ice in the training room after a game. Barry continues to remain in the starting line-up despite her pains.

It is obvious from Barry's desire to play through her injuries that she is determined to make her senior year memorable.

"There are a lot of seniors on the team, and we all want to do really well," Barry says.

Barry's hopes are set on capturing the Ivy League title. And if things continue to go as they have for the Crimson, that very well could be within reach.