W. Soccer One Win Away from Ivy Crown

After toppling No. 7 Connecticut on Wednesday, the Harvard women's soccer team continues to dominate the Northeast.

With a 1-0 victory over the Huskies (12-6), the No. 17 Crimson (12-1-1, 5-0 Ivy) took revenge on UConn for the past two years of dismal defeats, including a devastating 5-0 shutout two years ago.

But the trend won't stop there.

Harvard looks to extend its Ivy win streak to six games against rival Dartmouth, the team that stole the Ivy League championship from it last year in a 2-1 upset.

Although a repeat league title is out of the question, the No. 25 Big Green (8-6-1) is still volleying for an NCAA berth and a win over the Crimson could launch it in to position.

Dartmouth, trailing Harvard and UConn as No. 3 in the Northeast Division, is a stronger team than its record suggests.

"Dartmouth got off to a really bad start," freshman forward Beth Totman said. "They lost not necessarily a great player but a great leader, which affected them."

Currently boasting a three-game winning streak, the Big Green most recently felled non-Ivy opponent Boston University with a 3-1 victory.

Senior Melissa Roth will be leading Dartmouth's offense. An All-American candidate, she tallied two goals against the Terriers in the last game, including the game-winner, and assisted on the third.

Roth is supported by freshman Annie Gibson. A potent force for the Big Green this season, she assisted on Roth's first goal against B.U. and has a pair of goals this year.

Anchoring the Big Green's defense is Kristen Luckenbill, Dartmouth's ace between the posts. Luckenbill ranks second in the Ivy League with a 0.56 goals against average, just behind Harvard's freshman netminder Cheryl Gunther.

Luckenbill has posted three clean sheets in her last four games. And she would have had four had B.U.'s Beth Weisman not scored in the final minutes of her last match.

"I played with her [Luckenbill] when we were younger, so I know she's a great keeper," Totman said. "She's got a very physical presence. This may sound like a cliche, but soccer really is a team game, and if we play our game, she won't be able to stop us."

But the Crimson is not going to go down easily--or at all.

Luckenbill might be able to stop some of the Crimson's less potent shots, but with the triple threat of co-captain Beth Zotter, freshman forward Joey Yenne, and Totman on offense, posting a shutout against the Crimson will be difficult.

But Harvard will not depend just on its front line to do the work.

Junior midfielder Meredith Stewart made all the difference in Harvard's match-up against Princeton last week, scoring the lone goal in sudden-death overtime to come within inches of the Ivy League title.

And in the backfield is perhaps the strongest defensive talent in the league. Co-captain Jessica Larson and Gina Foster have proven almost unbeatable in the past few games, keeping offensive drives from the opposition to a minimum.

Larson was chosen as a member of the Ivy League Honor Roll for her role in extending the Crimson's 11-game unbeaten streak, the sixth longest in the nation.

Rounding out the defense is Gunther, who was selected Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her performance against the Tigers. The fifth consecutive Rookie of the Week hailing from Harvard, Gunther still leads the league with a .42 goals-against average, and boasts a 12-0-1 record on the season.

With the momentum generated from the victory over UConn, the Crimson is in excellent position to take on Dartmouth.

"After our win over UConn, nothing is going to stop us," Totman said. "Dartmouth's record is okay, but we feel really good about this weekend, and we're going to play really well."