Stickwomen Stop Springfield, 1-0; Cutone Shot Makes Maroon Blue

Before yesterday's field hockey game between Harvard and Springfield, Crimson sophomore Lisa Cutone decided to practice her penalty stroke shot, just in case.

Smart decision.

It was Cutone's goal off a penalty stroke that enabled the Crimson to defeat the Maroon, 1-0, at Soldiers Field.

"I was nervous, but I knew it was going to go in," Cutone said. "I hit the ball the same place where I hit it during practice."

Cutone's score, her first in a college uniform, occurred with 26 minutes left in the first half when the sophomore went one-on-one with Springfield goalie Julie Elias. Her shot from seven feet easily beat Elias and ignited a Crimson celebration.

Unlike in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Penn, Harvard controlled the pace of the game. Despite scoring only one goal, the stickwomen passed more effectively and successfully this time around and kept the ball at the Maroon end.

"We seemed more relaxed today," said Harvard Coach Nita Lamborghini, who played field hockey at Springfield. "We were able to play our game. We concentrated more on our excecution."

Tri-Captain Jane Grim was one of the biggest reasons why the Maroon had problems creating any scoring opportunities. With 12 minutes left in the second half, Springfield threatened to score, but Grim cleared the ball across midfield to end the threat.

"We worked a lot on our game during practice," Grim said. "The team just played a lot better."

Once again the Harvard defense helped seal the victory and provided goalie Denise Katsias (9 saves) with her third shutout of the year. The Crimson was especially successful in denying Springfield good shots off penalty corners. In its last two games, Harvard has turned back 26 penalty corners.

"We played exactly the way we wanted to," Tri-Captain Kate Felsen said. "We controlled the game and showed a lot of poise at the end of the game."

One of the nicer plays of the game occurred with about three minutes left in the game. Springfield was trying to even the game with a last-minute goal, but senior Nicole Simourian took the ball out of Harvard territory and cleared it back to the other side of the field.

The game was all but over when Grim hit the ball deep into Springfield's zone with about one minute left in the game and denied Springfield any chance of trying to create a last-second drive.

THE NOTEBOOK: Katsias now has 70 saves in Harvard's first six games. She has eight career shutouts. Fifteen is the Harvard record...The Crimson had a total of 34 shots on goal and 14 penalty corners...Felsen leads the stickwomen in scoring with four goals...Cutone's goal was the Crimson's first off a penalty stroke in three years.