More Than Just a Leader on the Field

What Ray Bourque is to the Boston Bruins, what Paul Coffey is to the Detroit Red Wings, that's what senior co-captain Francie Walton is to Harvard's field hockey team: a dominating offensive defender.

In fact, going into today's game against Rhode Island, Walton, who is also a co-captain of the Crimson women's ice hockey and lacrosse teams, has scored six of the seven Crimson goals this season from her center-back position.

Even with such a track record, highlighted by a four-goal performance at Springfield, Walton, contends that "her role is defensive."

Walton adds that her role on the penalty corner battery, and as the penalty stroker gives her quite a few opportunities to put the ball in the net.

This year's statistics certainly confirm that point with four goals coming straight off penalty corners, one off a direct penalty stroke, and one during the scramble after a penalty corner.

"Scoring for me usually means Sarah [Downing] hitting the corner out, Emily [Buxton] stopping it, and me smacking it in," says Walton, trying to account for her goal scoring prowess.

"Sarah [Downing] and I have worked together for a while now, and we're used to each other more."

Still, as the shooter on the team's only penalty corner battery, Walton believes she can do better.

"That's [the penalty corner] something I can still improve on. I'm not finishing off like I want to on some corners," Walton says.

Walton, a three-time letter winner, broke onto the Crimson sports scene as a freshman, winning the Ivy-League Rookie of the Year award after starting most of the games in the first half of the season. Even with this recognition Walton didn't see herself as being in top form.

"It was tough dealing with adjustments to college, so I started loosing confidence a little as the season wore on. I really don't know why I was picked Rookie of the year," Walton says. "In sophomore year, though, I picked it up. I was more confident, and I assumed more of a leadership role."

In Walton's sophomore year, the 1991 season, the Crimson fielded its strongest team in recent years, and fought its way into the NCAA tournament for the first time ever.

With several talented senior forwards to lead the offensive attack, Walton concentrated on becoming the defensive stopper. Her efforts were, again, rewarded with post-season recognition, this time as a second-team all Ivy-League selection to add to her accolades.

With the top four scorers from the '91 season having graduated, Walton assumed an even greater role, not only as a team leader, but also as an offensive contributor.

Walton ended her junior season as the team's second leading goal scorer, and her defensive consistency, focus on the field, and over-all competitiveness impressed enough of the regional coaches to earn her All-American honors in the Northeast Region, as well as first team All Ivy-League recognition.

"It was hard that year," says Walton, referring to last year's disappointing 4-9-2 mark, "but our talent started pulling together by the end of the season, and I was happy with my improvement from sophomore year."

Walton sees this year's team as a better team overall than last year's, despite the lack of team scoring.

"We've missed a lot of opportunities. We're just not finishing the play off," Walton says. "It's like our record. We don't have a record that shows how capable we are. We can prove to ourselves that we're better in the remaining games."