Host Eagles Fly High; Stickwomen Fall, 2-1

NEWTON--In one of its best efforts of this season, the Harvard field hockey team fell to Boston College, 2-1, here in overtime last night.

The Crimson came out strong in the first half, dominating play on the quicker, unfamiliar Eagle turf.

"We combined and mixed up the play well, had good possessions on offense and defense, and did all the things we had been working on very well," Harvard Coach Sue Caples said.

Harvard's lone goal came 13 minutes into the first half on a great team effort.

Freshman left-wing Becky Gaffney started the play by bringing the ball down the field and then centered it to Liz Chiu. Chiu passed it to Sharon Landau who backhanded it into the goal.

Harvard maintained its intensity in the second half until its momentum was broken by a surge of Eagle offensive pressure towards the end of the game. The Crimson made a series of defensive errors which produced penalty corners for the Eagles.

"You can't give a team as good as B.C. the opportunities we did in the last five minutes of play," Caples said.

With 30 seconds remaining in the game, the Eagles scored the tying goal off a scramble in front of the Harvard net to send the game into overtime.

In the first of two 10-minute overtime periods, Co-Captain and goaltender Denise Katsias made two crucial saves to keep Harvard's hopes alive, but the team was unable to generate the offense it needed to win.

B.C. scored the winning goal two minutes into the second overtime, off a free hit from the Crimson 25-yard line. The hard shot deflected off a forward's stick onto the wood of the Harvard cage.

The loss dropped the Crimson's record to 5-8 overall, 1-3 Ivy League and 0-3 in the Boston Four, the league consisting of B.C., Harvard, Boston University and Northeastern.

"We are still a team that has to learn how to win," Caples said. "Everyone contributed to the game, but that doesn't matter when you lose. It's too bad because the season is winding down and this team is really beginning to show its potential."

The Crimson has two games left in its schedule, both home contests against Brown and Yale.

Tomorrow's Cube

The National Basketball Association is about to begin the 1988-89 regular season. Turn to the Sports Cube for a look at the NBA season.

Will Michael Jordan keep flying? Will Larry Bird keep swishing? Are the Charlotte Hornets for real? Will it be hot for the Miami Heat?

These questions and others will be answered in tomorrow's Crimson.