W. Lax Whacks Wildcats

Now that's more like it.

Coming off Saturday's shocking loss to Loyola, the Harvard women's lacrosse team needed to show that it is still able to garner a big win.

The Wildcats of New Hampshire were just what the Crimson needed: a very beatable team good enough to still be a challenger for the nationally-esteemed Crimson.

And that is what happened yesterday at Ohiri Fields, as Harvard (2-1 Ivy, 7-2 overall) blitzed UNH by the score of 17-8.

A Quick Start

"We had quick start," Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder said, "and passed the ball well."

Quick may not be the right word for the way that the Crimson started off the game.

Maybe Warp-10 would be the better term.

It took Harvard only 3:04 for to score its first goal of the game, and then 4:32 to score its next six. So with the first half just beginning, the Crimson staked out to a 7-0 advantage.

Meanwhile, UNH found it difficult to move the ball onto the other half of the field.

"We definitely came out ready to play," co-captain Francie Walton said.

The only time that the game was in any sort of doubt was during the end of the first half.

After extending its lead to 9-1, the Crimson offense suddenly began to sputter.

The Wildcats made good use of the lapse, and closed the gap to 9-4 at halftime.

"I think that we broke down a bit and got tired," Walton said. "The attack wasn't holding on to the ball [long enough]--it was kind of a team lull.

"We started trying to go one-on-one instead of passing the ball around," Walton said.

"It's tough," junior Megan Colligan said. "When you get up that high you start to play down--it's a mental lapse. But in the second half we got it together."

All Harvard in Second

That was certainly the case. UNH tallied a goal immediately following the opening draw, but from then on it was all Harvard.

Joey Alissi whipped a goal in off the post barely a minute later, increasing the lead to 10-5. From then on the Crimson scored six straight goals to send the Wildcats to the showers.

"The key was to set the tempo," Kleinfelder said. "We had good stickhandling, and concentrated on moving our feet."

Alissi led the Crimson with four goals, while Walton tallied three. Freshman goalie Kate Schutt also had an impressive, day, with seven saves on 15 shots. The last three goals came when the game had already been decided.

Terrapins Next

Now Harvard can look forward to Saturday, when the team taken on the Maryland at Ohiri Field.

Last season the Crimson fell to the Terrapins, 11-10, and both teams lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The pressure is on the Crimson to win the game, for a loss would be the third on the season and would make it all but impossible to earn a spot in the four-team tournament.

"Maryland is a very skilled team," Alissi said. "The transition has to be fluid."

"I've seen [Maryland] play and they are a very, very good team," Kleinfelder said. "I'd like to see what we're going to do."