Field Hockey Battles Dartmouth Today

Down in the cellar, the fights can get ugly.

The Harvard field hockey team faces Dartmouth today at Cumnock Field in a match that should prove to be a scrappy dogfight between two teams trying to salvage some pride in a season that has done them wrong.

The Crimson (3-8-2 overall, 1-4-0 Ivy) finds itself in fifth place in the Ancient Eight, just one year after winning a share of the Ivy title.

Harvard has dropped its last three games and is coming off a 2-0 loss to Northeastern.

The Big Green boasts a slightly better overall record than Harvard, 5-6-2. But Dartmouth has fallen flat on its face in the Ancient Eight, and its 1-4-0 record puts it in second to last place in the Ivies--one spot below the Crimson.

Dartmouth has fared better recently, however, and the team recorded its first Ivy win of the season, 1-0 over Cornell last Saturday.

The Big Green is also coming off a 2-0 victory over Vermont. But before these two victories, Dartmouth had lost its previous five matches.

Both teams have relied heavily on youth this season and have suffered the consequences of inexperience.

Harvard Coach Sue Caples said the teams match up well with each other because both squads use their freshman players liberally.

"On paper it looks pretty even," Caples said. "It's going to come down to who is going to be more competitive."

There does not seem to be much to play for with the season drawing its curtains for the year and Harvard no where near another Ivy title. But Caples said Harvard will be fighting for pride and trying to gain some momentum for next year.

"We want to finish strong so that we don't have to carry the weight of our record around with us," Caples said. "Certainly its hard to motivate, but in this situation, the players have a lot to learn about themselves."

Caples said that the Crimson will try to put together a better mental game than it has recently.

"We have to play a thinking game," Caples said. "We're almost out of time, and the future starts tomorrow."

The Crimson will have to do more than think about shutting down the Big Green's offense and getting past Dartmouth goalie Lauren Demski. The Big Green's leading scorer is senior Christina Caputo (7 goals).

But more impressive, is Dartmouth's freshman netminder Lauren Demski whose three consecutive shutouts got her a place in last week's Ivy Honor Roll.

Harvard will have to fire up more offense than it has recently if it is to finish off its season at Cumnock Field the way that it began--with a win.