Northeastern Nails Stickwomen in Rain-Swept Shutout, 3-0

Northeastern had the Harvard women's field hockey team dancin' in the rain.

In the first game of the Boston Four Tournament, the Huskies nabbed a 3-0 win over the Crimson yesterday at Parsons Field.

Northeastern, a powerhouse among the Division I field hockey teams, managed to keep the Crimson off the scoreboard the entire game. Playing on its home field--an astroturf surface--Northeastern exhibited the skill which made it the number three team in the nation last year.

"Northeastern is a very experienced team. However, we never got on track from the beginning," Harvard Coach Sue Caples said.

After a single day of practice on turf, the Crimson (1-1) felt it was at a disadvantage--and could not compensate for the faster play on the slicker surface.

"Northeastern's a turf team and they were on their own field, the adjustment [to turf] is hard to make in one day," Co-Captain Erin O'Brien said.

Harvard seemed to have a problem connecting at the midfield. Without that crucial connection to the offensive end, Harvard had little opportunity to get on the scoreboard.

"We were not on attack at all," junior Anne van Dykum said.

The Crimson played a sluggish first half and Northeastern took full advantage. Playing faster and neater field hockey, the Huskies allowed the Crimson no breaks.

"They outplayed us," said senior Sharon Landau. "We didn't have enough options."

Failing Behind

The Huskies opened the scoring midway through the first period and were up by two goals at the half.

"The main problem was that they were beating us to the ball," O'Brien said.

"There were no openings, no passing and no cutting," Co-Captain Char Joslin said.

After adjusting to the new surface, the puddles and the rain, the Crimson improved in the second half. But Northeastern was unwavering in its attack. The Huskies tallied a third goal after miscommunication among the Harvard defense resulted in an uncontested shot on goal.

"Northeastern's a very good team; obviously we did not play as well as we are capable of," Caples said. "When we play scholarship teams such as Northeastern we need to play thinking we can win."

Harvard opens its Ivy League schedule Saturday in New Haven when it faces one of the most experienced goalies in the league. Yale senior Sue Sabatino will be defending the goal when the Crimson looks for its first Ivy win.

"The Ivy League is very strong, anyone could win," Caples said. "Harvard has a lot of character and you can expect us to come out strong and score early and often."