Friars Come Back To Edge F. Hockey

A quarter of a minute. Twenty seconds. Twenty tiny ticks of the game clock.

It doesn't seem like much. The average American teen has a shorter attention span.

But that's all the time that separated the Harvard field hockey team from a stunning upset of 12th-ranked Providence (10-2-1) yesterday in Rhode Island. And 20 seconds will loom as the difference between what could have been the completion of a mid-season turnaround and what turned out to be a potentially devastating 3-2 overtime defeat.

The loss drops the Crimson to 2-5-2 overall and will always remain just an L in the record book, fated never to tell how close the Crimson came.

With the momentum of last weekend's 3-0 trouncing of Yale behind it, Harvard found offensive success against a Friar team that has been rock solid on defense this season.

"Harvard definitely came to play today," Providence Coach Jackie Barto said.

The Crimson managed to get off 17 shots on the Friar net while forcing seven penalty corners. Freshman Carrie Shumway and junior Sarah Downing led Harvard's attack with one goal each.

"We took it right to them from the beginning," Harvard Coach Sue Caples said.

The Crimson also shut down Providence's high-powered offense, blanking the Friars in the first half and allowing just one goal for 34:40 of the second period.

Downing's goal with four minutes left to play in the game broke the stalemate.

The Crimson carried its one-goal lead into the final 60 seconds of the contest only to see Friar forward Cathy Guden played Francisco Cabrera to the Crimson's Pittsburgh Pirates. With 20 seconds left, Guden beat freshman goalie Jessica Milhollin to force the match into overtime.

Harvard then watched what may have been its best effort of the season fall short as Friar forward Lynn Campbell sliced the Gordion knot, scoring with 3:44 left in overtime.

Caples said the most frustrating part of the game was the Crimson's inability to convert on breakaways in the second half and in overtime.

"We just couldn't finish and beat that last player," Caples said.

Providence netminder Gina Martiniello was usually that last player. Martiniello made 20 saves in the game, five of them in overtime.

"This was a really big win for us," Barto said. "If we had lost today, it would have broken our backs."

And what about Harvard's back? It needs a chiropractor. "It's disheartening," Caples said. "But emotionally, we can't let down."

Oh those 20 seconds...20 seconds.

PROVIDENCE, 3-2 OT at Providence, R.I. Harvard  0  2  0  --  2 Providence  0  2  1  --  3

G: Providence--Kristen Manheim, Kathy Guden, Lynne Campbell; Harvard--Carrie Shumway, Sarah Downing. A: Providence--Rebecca Mitchell; Harvard--None. S: Providence--Martiniello 20; Harvard--Milhollin 10.