F. Hockey Falls, 5-1

PRINCETON N.J.--On another day, in another place, the Harvard field hockey team might have beaten Princeton.

Saturday in New Jersey, the Crimson didn't have a chance.

In the game that essentially decided who will represent the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament play-in, Princeton thumped Harvard, 5-1, on the strength of four first-half goals less than 15 minutes apart.

Going into the match, the two teams were the only undefeated squads in the Ivies, and although Harvard was ranked above Princeton in the nation--16th and 18th places, respectively--the Tigers were the clear favorite. Harvard had lost its last two games in a row, falling to unranked Providence and Boston College, and had not been as dominant as Princeton in rolling through the Ivy League.

The only Ancient Eight game that Princeton struggled in was at Yale on the Elis' grass field, which the Tigers won 3-2 in overtime. At home on its astroturf, however, Princeton can be unbeatable; on Saturday, the Tigers were just that.

"They're a very talented team," Harvard coach Sue Caples said. "They played a great game, they executed well and they're a top team. They have some very skilled players, and they took care of the ball. They really executed their game plan well today."

Nothing went particularly well for the Crimson. The Tigers moved up and down the field practically at will and blasted 25 shots at the Harvard goal, and Caples got red-carded midway through the second half by a referee who objected to her complaints.

The Princeton avalanche began a little under 15 minutes into the game, ending a stretch of mostly even play. Tiger Kathleen Kelly broke deep into the Crimson scoring arc and dribbled to the right post, where freshman goalie Anya Cowan met her. Kelly then passed across the goal mouth to teammate Kate Carroll, and Carroll pushed a shot past senior Whitney Smith, who was trying to guard the left post area.

Then it started to get ugly for the Crimson. Princeton scored twice more in the next six minutes to put away Harvard for good.

"I definitely thought that this was going to be more of an even game," junior attacker Amy DiMarzio said. "I thought that we were going to have better results sooner."

Princeton's second and third goals both came off of penalty corners--a statistic which the Tigers dominated throughout the game. Less than a minute after Princeton's first goal, Ann Marie Reich hit a shot that deflected off of the outstretched Cowan's side into the cage, and four minutes after that Princeton's Amy MacFarlane faked a shot and passed to Kirsty Hale, who tallied the goal.

That was really about it for the game. The Tiger's Molly O'Malley and Kathleen Kelly both scored, as did Harvard's Dominique Kalil, but these goals were for the most part irrelevant, as this game had been already decided.

Back on Track

The three-game losing streak didn't last very long for Harvard (8-6, 3-1 Ivy), however, as the team defeated La Salle yesterday, 3-1.

The Crimson won despite using astroturf shoes on La Salle's grass fields, meaning that the players were essentially running around in sneakers. The game was originally supposed to take place at Princeton, but La Salle did not turn in the insurance forms to Princeton in time, so upon arriving in New Jersey the Crimson learned that it would only be able to play at La Salle.

Of course, Harvard didn't pack any cleats, but that turned out not to matter, as Kalil, sophomore Judy Collins and co-captain Daphne Clark all scored in the win.

Still, it wasn't a walk in the park for Harvard.

"The thing that's ridiculous with it is that [La Salle] played Dartmouth here three weeks ago, and for some reason they didn't get the same right paperwork in," Caples said. "It's inexcusable. So we'll play LaSalle, but we won't play them again." PRINCETON, 5-1 at Princeton, N.J. Harvard  0  1  --  1 Princeton  4  1  --  5

First Half

Pri--Carroll (Kelly) 13:22.

Pri--Reich (Hunsiker, Hale) 14:04.

Pri--Hale (MacFariane) 19:00.

Pri--O'Malley 26:02.

Second Half

Har--Kalil 4:19.

Pri--Kelly (MacFariane) 5:38.

Saves: Har--Cowan 15; Pri--Fruscione 7.

Penalty Corners: Har--6; Pri--13. Harvard  1 Princeton  5

First Half

Pri--Carroll (Kelly) 13:22.

Pri--Reich (Hunsiker, Hale) 14:04.

Pri--Hale (MacFariane) 19:00.

Pri--O'Malley 26:02.

Second Half

Har--Kalil 4:19.

Pri--Kelly (MacFariane) 5:38.

Saves: Har--Cowan 15; Pri--Fruscione 7.

Penalty Corners: Har--6; Pri--13. Harvard  1 Princeton  5