Seniors, Freshman Lead Crimson Past BYU

Playing on a soaked and muddy Ohiri field in the middle of a cold, wet and windy day, the Harvard women's soccer team pulled off the biggest win of its season against BYU in the final game of the Harvard Invitational yesterday afternoon.

The Crimson (6-1-1, 3-0 Ivy)--after dominating play for much of the game--finally broke through in the last minute of play, as freshman forward Beth Totman booted home the game-winner to upset the No. 9 Cougars (11-2) by the score of 1-0.

The Crimson's talented senior class--anchored by co-captain Jess Larson, who earned team MVP honors for the invitational--and its sensational group of freshmen led the charge.

Senior Pride

At the heart of the victory for the Crimson was, as usual, its stellar senior class.

Larson--a perennial All-Ivy selection--played phenomenally well yesterday, as well as on Saturday in Harvard's 2-1 win over league rival Penn.

Yesterday, Larson continually thwarted advances from BYU, proving time-and-again that she will not be beaten easily in a one-on-one situation.

"[Larson] is truly amazing," Totman said. "She totally handled [Maren Hendershot, BYU's] best player. And she totally shut down Penn's forwards on Saturday."

Offensively, Harvard also looked to its fourth-year players to lead the charge. Co-captain Beth Zotter and senior midfielders Julia Blain and Ashley Berman created many chances for the Crimson and continued to lead with their example of hard work.

Berman and Zotter, in particular, were integral in the Harvard attack, as they used their superb ball-handling skills to maneuver through the Cougar defense.

Freshman Phenoms

With the departure of many key seniors from last year's squad, the Crimson has called upon the services of a sensational freshman class, and the group has responded with uncanny poise.

Against BYU many of the Crimson's best scoring chances came off of the feet of its rookie players.

Freshman midfielder Orly Ripmaster showed off her powerful leg in several situations, including netting a free kick from about 40 yards out that was disallowed in the first half, and nearly scoring on another from about 30 yards in the second.

Ripmaster also sent a beautiful cross to junior forward Colleen Moore, who headed the ball in but was called for a questionable offsides violation.

"[Ripmaster] is just so athletic," Coach Tim Wheaton said. "She nearly scored on a great free kick today, and just opens up a lot of things for us."

In the end, it was two freshmen that came through with the deciding goal.

With under a minute left in regulation, freshman forward Joey Yenne took the ball at midfield and kicked a great pass up field to a streaking Totman. The ball got by the Cougar sweeper, Totman ran by her, beat the last defender between her and the goal, and boomed a shot into the right corner of the net, to give Harvard the game.

Perhaps the silent hero for the Crimson on the season has been freshman goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther. Gunther made seven saves against BYU on the afternoon for her second shutout of the season, and was named Ivy League rookie of the Week for her play on the weekend.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

A major source of motivation for the Crimson yesterday was its search for respect in the world of women's soccer. Despite undefeated play in the Ivy League and a tie to top 15 Hartford, Harvard had yet to crack the top 20 in the rankings this season.

"This was a huge win for us," Larson said. "We feel like we haven't been getting any respect, but with this win we proved that we are as good as a top 15 team. We are a top 15 caliber team."

Adding to the Crimson desire was some negative treatment from the BYU coaching staff.

"On Saturday, [freshman defenseman] Katie Urbanic was talking to a friend of hers on the BYU team," Totman said. "A BYU coach saw them, sent Katie away, and told her that they could talk after they beat us."

"That kind of gave us some extra motivation to win today," Totman added. "The win was definitely sweet."

And with the win over the top 10 Cougars, the Crimson will likely see itself rising in the rankings, and getting the respect it feels it deserves.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Yesterday's game was played under some horrific game-time conditions. The contest was marred by constant wind, as well as with rain and frigid air.

"It was really hard to see the ball, especially in the first half with the wind in our face," Totman said.

"It was cold and windy out there, but while you are playing you don't really think about it," Larson said. "But towards the end I wasn't getting much action on defense, so I started to get cold."

Furthermore, the field was completely drenched, having soaked up the rain for hours before the game. Players were slipping and sliding throughout the contest, and the middle of the pitch was littered with puddles two inches deep.

"It was impossible to move the ball in the midfield with all of the puddles," Totman said. "The ball would either stand still or skid on the wet grass. It was really difficult to read the ball."

But despite the less than ideal playing conditions, Harvard was able to wade through the mud and come through with its biggest win of the year.