Laxwomen Set to Take on Yale

The weather report today calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of around 50 degrees.

That's the best news the Harvard women's Lacrosse team has heard in weeks. Just imagine--actually getting to play outdoors at home.

After struggling with Mother Nature to get its outdoor season going and after earning a 1-2 record over spring break, the Crimson hasn't derived much pleasure from the other little tidbits of info that have been circulating around town either.

Take, for instance this week's national rankings. The presence poll posted Harvard second in the country only 13 points behind defending NCAA champion Maryland.

This week, Harvard (3-2 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) falls to fifth place.

Virginia (7-1 overall) currently leads the nation Ivy member Princeton (6-1, 2-0), which handed the Crimson a 3-2 loss last week, is in second place.

And while Harvard has continued to compete with the best of collegiate Division I lacrosse, garnering convincing wins over nationally-ranked opponents such as Temple and Old Dominion, Ivy rivals Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell have dominated the weekly league honors, leaving little room for the Crimson's standouts.

The consistently outstanding efforts of senior Co-Captain Liz Berkery, sophomore midfielder Sarah Winters and junior goal-keeper Liz Williamson have been overshadowed by flashier players around the Ancient Eight.

PTPers

Offensive Player of the Week Tina Hennousey of Cornell had a seven-point week with five goals and two assists in two games, including an upset over nationally ranked Brown.

With eight points (five goals, three assists), Hennessey currently shares top scoring honors in the league with...Harvard's Berkery.

And by the way, Berkery leads Harvard with 21 total points so far this season. Winters has 17.

Hennessey has a grand total of 14. Hmmph.

On defense, the story isn't any better. Princeton goalie Alison Keiller collected Defensive Player of the Week by racking up six saves in 36 minutes to help the Tigers squirm by a punchy Dartmouth team in overtime, 11-9.

It was Keiller's second career win.

Back at the Ranch

Meanwhile, Crimson netminder Williamson, a rookie in the position herself, leads the league in goals-against average with 5.50 and is second in save percentage at .576. Double hmmph.

But Harvard doesn't appear to be fazed by the lack of weekly honors and favorable rankings, and rightly so--the Crimson is looking to continue gaining momentum and get its season rolling along.

Today, Harvard hosts Yale in its first league match-up in over a week.

The Elis (2-3, 0-1) were ranked in the top 15 in the preseason, but with a mediocre beginning has dropped them out of the rankings. Last weekend, Yale was stunned by an unranked Pennsylvania squad, 9-6, and it hasn't had much time to recover.

Still, the Elis sport a well-balanced offense, featuring senior attacker Eva Vishio, who leads her team with nine goals and two assists. Four other Elis have earned more than five points so far this season.

And if you feel like believing that stellar weather report, the game begins at 3:00 at Ohiri Field.