W. Lax Starts Slow, Finishes Strong

The Harvard women's lacrosse team finished the 1998 season with a flourish, but unfortunately, it was too little too late, as the Crimson managed only a .500 record.

The young Harvard squad closed out the year on a high note, winning its final four games, but some close early-season losses sealed its fate, as Harvard finished with a 3-4 record in the Ivy League and a 7-7 record overall.

Former Crimson star Liz Berkery-Drury '93 assumed the coaching job for the season, as 20-year veteran coach Carole Kleinfelder took a spring sabbatical. Berkery-Drury inherited a young team with veteran leadership poised to rebound from a disappointing 1997 campaign, in which Harvard won only one Ivy League contest.

Last season was the first time in the 22-year history of the program that the Crimson failed to reach the .500 mark, but this year's season-ending 10-9 win over Cornell assured that, at least for this season, Harvard would not make a habit of it.

"It was a great note to end on at home," said tri-captain Keren Gudeman. "Our goal was to end at .500, and we had a lot of fun doing it, which is the most important thing."

It comes as no surprise that leading the way for the Crimson all season was senior attacker and tri-captain Honor MacNaughton. MacNaughton once again proved to be the Crimson's go-to offensive player, as she led the team in points, netting 29 goals and four assists en route to picking up a First Team All-Ivy selection for the second consecutive season.

Fellow tri-captains Gudeman and Holly Rogers anchored a strong Crimson defense throughout the season. Gudeman in particular stood out, her 24 ground ball controls on the season leading the team. Her consistently strong play earned her an All-Ivy First Team selection as well.

Record: 7-7, 3-4 Ivy

Coach: Liz Berkery-Drury '93

Highlights: Wins last four games to finish .500; places three players on All-Ivy First Team

Seniors: Keren Gudeman, Honor MacNaughton, Holly Rogers

Rounding out the First-Team All Ivies for the Crimson was fifth-year junior Kate Schutt. Schutt starred in goal for the Crimson her freshman year, as she garnered 1994 Ivy Rookie of the Year honors, but took two years off after her sophomore season. And although she started the 1998 campaign late because of an extended ice hockey season, Schutt quickly regained her form in goal, recording a solid .609 save percentage, good for 10th in the nation.

Despite strong leadership from these veterans, the Crimson still lacked experience, as the 1998 team welcomed 10 newcomers. The team's youth was evident from the beginning of the season, which saw Harvard drop two very close matches to Boston College and UMass.

After rebounding to reach .500 with wins against Boston University and Villanova, the Crimson suffered a 13-6 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Maryland to enter the Ivy season with a 2-3 record.

The Crimson began its Ivy season with a bang, besting Brown by one goal on March 28. But the success was short-lived, as the Crimson lost its next four contests, all to Ivy foes.

The first two, against Yale and Penn, were decided by one goal. Then the Crimson surprised many, as it gave Princeton--the sixth-ranked team in the nation--all it could handle in a hotly contested 6-4 loss. But eventual Ivy-champ Dartmouth proved to be far too much for Harvard, as it defeated the Crimson 20-7 in the next game.

"Dartmouth was a talented team, but we did not at all show what kind of team we were," Berkery-Drury said after the loss. "If we had played like we did [against Princeton], we would have beaten [Dartmouth]."

Refusing to allow this rough stretch to bring the team down, however, the Crimson showed much heart in recovering to end the season. Harvard proceeded to defeat Notre Dame, Columbia, New Hampshire and Cornell to end the season red-hot. Unfortunately for the Crimson, the midseason slump proved to be its undoing, as it was denied an invitation to the ECAC tournament.

"I think we knew it could have gone either way, but we were disappointed because we felt we were a much better team at the end of the season," said freshman Alli Harper.

Despite the disappointment of the season, Harvard showed promise down the stretch. Although it will lose its senior tri-captains--MacNaughton, Gudeman, and Rogers--the Crimson returns an impressive team.

Harper had a sensational rookie season at attack, as she netted 30 goals and three assists to tie for the team lead, earning her an All-Ivy Honorable Mention selection. Juniors Clare Parker and Claudia Asano, and sophomores Ashley Birch, Jeanne Ficociello, Kim Weeks and Anne Johnson will also return, adding more punch to the Harvard midfield and attack.

On defense junior Laura Dahmen and sophomores Becca Brown and Genevieve Grandison are a talented, hardworking trio and will be looked upon to lead a strong and experienced group.

Although the past two seasons have ended in disappointment for the team, the return of such a talented, and now experienced, group of players may mean that a return to the glory days of Harvard women's lacrosse is not far away.