W. Soccer Returns to NCAAs, Falls in Heartbreaker

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 15-2, 7-0 Ivy

Ivy Finish: First

Coach: Tim Wheaton

Key Players: Junior Emily Stauffer; Sophomores Naomi Miller and Devon Bingham

1997

To the 1,500-strong crowd on hand at Ohiri Field on Nov. 17, the Harvard women's soccer team's heartbreaking 2-1 loss in the NCAA tournament's first round must have seemed--excuse the Berraism--like deja vu all over again.

Just one week after an own goal had blemished the Crimson's otherwise sparkling 3-1 Ivy League clincher against the Brown Bears, No. 10 Harvard bowed out to Atlantic-10-champion UMass in triple overtime on a tragically similar own goal.

The loss, Harvard's second to UMass in the Crimson's last two NCAA appearances, ended what had been a near-perfect campaign.

Harvard blazed through its regular-season schedule, posting a 15-1 record and a perfect 7-0 Ivy mark to take its second-straight league crown.

But despite wins over Texas and Cal Poly-SLO in an October road swing, and a thrilling 2-1 loss to No. 4 UConn, Harvard came up short in its quest to shine outside the Ancient Eight.

Coach Tim Wheaton, in his tenth season with the Crimson, steered an extremely talented program to its highest win total since 1984, when Harvard last notched an NCAA win, reaching the Eastern Regional Championship.

Wheaton's club combined a potent offense with the Ivy's stingiest defense, outscoring league opponents 19-3 and dominating play in a conference in which it has not lost since 1993.

Junior midfielder Emily Stauffer once again paced the squad on offense, collecting a team-best 36 points on 13 goals and 10 assists, including two game-winners.

Stauffer garnered her second consecutive Ivy League Player of the Year award and earned a slot on the Ivy League first team for the third time.

Sophomore forward Naomi Miller joined Stauffer in directing the attack, adding 35 points on 13 goals and nine assists, leading the Ivies with seven goals and five assists in league play.

On the other side of the ball, sophomore midfielder Devon Bingham, an All-Ivy first-teamer, and freshman back Jessica Larson, a second-teamer, anchored a defensive unit that allowed only 12 goals all season.

The Crimson relied on a simple, effective formula all season, dispatching worse teams and sticking with the likes of UConn to impress on the national level.

Harvard's capable defense allowed consistent ball control in the midfield, and the team's offensive generals--Stauffer, Miller, senior midfielder Dana Tenser and junior forward Keren Gudeman--created scoring chances with superstar individual efforts.

That mix of offensive explosiveness and total ball control kept the Crimson at the top of the Ivy standings and pushed this forward-looking program toward national recognition.

For Harvard, however, cementing a place in the highest echelons of college soccer demands not only conference effectiveness but success against the national powerhouses.

In both 1995 and 1996, the Crimson convincingly flexed its Ivy muscle. What remains is to beat the likes of the Huskies, the Tar Heels and the Fighting Irish--the teams in collegiate soccer's inner circle that play in the postseason year in and year out--and win.

Harvard enters the 1997 campaign primed for success. Although Harvard will be losing Tenser and co-captains Rachel Chernikoff and Meg Kassakian, the Crimson will return a strong underclass contingent with considerable playing experience.

Indeed, among the club's most promising signs were the healthy contributions of Larson, goalie Anne Browning (0.54 gaa), midfielder Julia Blain and back Gina Foster (twice Ivy League Rookie of the Week).

That youth, matched with the wealth of talent in the sophomore and junior classes, makes 1997 a crucial year for the Crimson's national push.

Harvard can build on its Ivy dominance and compelling efforts against Texas and UConn to improve on a 15-2 record, and perhaps claim some victories in NCAA play.

Crimson fans should expect that come next November at Ohiri, some new memories will be created. Then deja vu will truly be a thing of the past.