W. Soccer Cruises Past Brown; Nabs Ivy Title

Three-peat.

Two words everpresent in the minds of the players on the Harvard's women soccer team yesterday. Winning by a 2-1 margin over Brown (6-10-0, 2-5-0 Ivy), Harvard achieved its season-long goal--the Ivy League Championship.

"We were so excited," said sophomore back Jessica Larson. "If we had lost, we would have lost our chance to go to the NCAA tournament."

Harvard (11-3-2, 6-1-0) was bestowed the Bessie H. Rudd Cup, awarded to the Ivy League Champion, as it won the title outright by defeating Brown.

Harvard's sole loss in the Ivies came just two weeks into the season with a 3-2 heartbreaker at Yale. After that game, Harvard went on a hot streak, winning its next five Ivy games.

Following a 1-0 defeat over Dartmouth last Saturday, Harvard was in a perfect spot to take the title. All it needed was a tie or win against Brown.

However, the Crimson did not settle for a tie.

Only four minutes into the game, Harvard crushed any doubts as to its scoring abilities by putting the ball in the back of the net off a corner kick. Assisted by junior forward Naomi Miller, senior forward Lindsay Minkus slid the ball in the net after a scramble in front of the goal.

Fifteen minutes later, sophomore forward Gina Foster drove the ball down the center of the field and ripped a shot from just outside the 18 yard box, which grazed past the Brown goalkeeper Elise Roy.

"It was an amazing shot," Larson said.

Thus, Harvard jumped out to a 2-0 edge early. These two goals would be all the Crimson would need in its victory.

Harvard simply outplayed Brown; Harvard had 19 shots to Brown's 10. Harvard goalkeeper Anne Browning only had to make four saves.

"It was a fight out there," Larson said. "Brown tends to be really aggressive. They were trash-talking and pulling our jerseys."

Apparently Brown had trouble keeping up with Harvard otherwise.

However, in the 54th minute, Brown closed the margin to one on a goal by Libby Lyons. But that would be as close as the Bears would come to spoiling Harvard's Ivy League Championship hopes.

"We played well despite horrible conditions," Miller said. "There was standing water on the field; the ball would just stop in the middle of a pool of water."

On Saturday, the Harvard men's soccer game against Brown was canceled, due to three inches of water covering the playing field.

Thanks to the automatic tournament berth given to the Ivy League champion, the Crimson now moves on to the big guns.

"Now we wait for Tuesday, when we find out who and when we will play in the NCAAs," Miller said. "We are very excited."

Coming off six straight wins, in which it outscored its opponents 14-3, Harvard hopes to continue this momentum in the NCAAs this coming weekend. HARVARD  2 BROWN  1

HARVARD, 4-0 at Providence, R.I. Harvard  2  0  --  2 Brown  0  1  --  1

Scoring

Har--Minkus (Miller) 4:09.

Har--Foster (unassisted) 19:03.

Bro--Lyons (Daughters) 54:11.

Saves: Har--Browning 4; Bro--Roy 12.

HARVARD, 4-0 at Providence, R.I. Harvard  2  0  --  2 Brown  0  1  --  1

Scoring

Har--Minkus (Miller) 4:09.

Har--Foster (unassisted) 19:03.

Bro--Lyons (Daughters) 54:11.

Saves: Har--Browning 4; Bro--Roy 12.

Scoring

Har--Minkus (Miller) 4:09.

Har--Foster (unassisted) 19:03.

Bro--Lyons (Daughters) 54:11.

Saves: Har--Browning 4; Bro--Roy 12.