Women's Soccer Seeks Consistency Against B.C.

The outcome of the Harvard women's soccer team's game against Boston College tomorrow is difficult to predict.

B.C. has demonstrated a wild inconsistency so far this season.

The Eagles (3-4-0) played Connecticut, the second-best team in the country, and lost by just one goal.

Lowly Keane State, however, mopped up the field with the B.C. squad.

Which Eagles team will take the field tomorrow? Will they fly or crash-land?

"They're a decent team," Crimson Coach Tim Wheaton said. "They do have the ability to play well."

B.C. needs consistency, an elusive quality the Crimson seeks, too.

It's All In Your Head

So far this season, Harvard has played exceptionally strong soccer, but suffered devastating lapses at times.

"We can't just want to win," Assistant Coach Stacy Flionis said. "We have to play like we want to win."

To defeat B.C., the Crimson must overcome its inability to finish its scoring chances.

Against Brown, Harvard had several opportunities to score, but failed to convert any of them.

"We're working on finishing," Wheaton said. "We need consistency up front."

The strong B.C. defense hopes to profit from the Crimson's difficulties.

Eagle sweeper Heather Hughes and defensive middie Sanya Withington anchor a defense that held second-ranked Connecticut to one goal.

Erin Matias and the Crimson defense will try to regroup against the B.C. offense, led by forward Michelle Howland.

Against Brown, the Crimson defense was hounded by the pressure brought by Bears middie Nicki Barber. B.C., with Howland in a similar role, will pose the same challenge.

"We've got to get our backfield organized," Wheaton said.

Get Psyched

Another key lies in the attitude of the Crimson players.

"Our attitude has been too casual," Flionis said. "We have to play with more fire and aggressiveness."

Harvard needs to use this game as a springboard for upcoming conference games.

Although Harvard is tied with Brown and Yale for second place in the Ivy League at 1-1-0, Cornell (3-0-0) threatens to run away from the pack with victories over Columbia, Penn, and most recently Yale.

Yale, which defeated Brown, 1-0, was massacred by Cornell on Saturday, 5-0.

Cornell has won six games in a row, and is just two games away from the longest winning streak in its history.

So far, the Big Red has established itself as the team to beat in the Ivy League.

Harvard's Ivy status rests on back-to-back matchups with Cornell and Yale, on October 19 and 22, respectively.

Victories there would make Harvard a frontrunner for the Ancient Eight crown.

"We're definitely not out of the race yet," Flionis said. "We've only lost once."