W. Soccer Postseason Fate to Be Decided This Weekend

With its 2-1 loss to No. 13 Hartford on Halloween night, the Harvard women's soccer team has had its worst fears realized: a second straight Ivy League championship is all but an impossibility now, and the team's hopes for a bid into the NCAA Tournament are in doubt as well.

Needless to say, this is not how the Crimson (10-6, 4-2 Ivy) wanted to enter the final weekend of the season.

On the plus side, at least October is over. After starting out the month on a torrid pace by reeling off seven straight wins, the Crimson experienced an utter reversal of fortune, losing its next four games, three by a single goal. In just one week, Harvard has gone from standing a good chance of receiving a first round bye in the postseason tourney to the unenviable position of being on the bubble.

"We've had a rough stretch," junior forward Colleen Moore said. "Right now, we just feel like that's behind us. If we get in [to the tournament], that will be forgotten."

The Crimson's fate will be learned once and for all on Sunday night when the NCAA selection committee releases the field of 48 teams. At that time, half of the available spots will go to league champions, while the remaining 24 will be awarded on an at-large basis.

The team plans to gather at the Crimson Sports Grille to watch the selection show via satellite feed.

But before the seedings are announced, the Crimson will have one last chance to state its case to the committee when the team hosts lowly Columbia at Ohiri Field tomorrow. Game time is 11 a.m.

The Lions (4-10-2, 0-6) have never beaten the Crimson, and tomorrow will definitely not be the time for any firsts. A win in this situation is unquestionably a must, and it would not hurt if it came in convincing fashion.

"Obviously we have to win, not only for our NCAA standing, but also for our confidence," Moore said. "A convincing win would be nice."

A victory would ensure a share of second place in the Ivy League standings, which could be crucial come selection-time. If the Crimson was to finish in third, it could be crowded out of the tournament given the large number of talented teams in the league, not to mention the region.

Last season, the Ivy League had four teams receive bids, the second-highest total of any conference behind only the ACC. It is unclear whether the committee would award the league that same number of entries again. In the year before last, just two Ivy teams earned selections; in 1997, the Ivy champion was the league's only representative.

As for this year, assuming neither Dartmouth nor Princeton stumbles this weekend, they will tie for the league title and both would gain entrance to the tournament.

That leaves the future of the conference's likely two second-place teams in doubt. Does the committee take both Harvard and Brown? If the committee decides there is room for only one of them, it would be tough to overlook the Bears' 2-0 defeat against Harvard earlier this season.

Then again, the Crimson has played a tougher schedule than Brown and has also beaten Princeton and Boston College, two teams that defeated the Bears. Harvard is also currently ranked three spots ahead of Brown in the regional rankings.

But Harvard is just 1-4 against teams that were ranked in the Top-25 at the time they played them. Against teams that have been ranked at any point this season the Crimson is 1-6.

While the losses will not reflect on Harvard, the mere fact that the Crimson has played so many tough teams will work to its advantage. And even in the midst of the team's current losing streak--its longest slump since 1989--the Crimson still has been playing well. Both of Harvard's league losses, as well as its losses to Penn State and Hartford, came on the road.

In addition, several of the losing decisions could have easily gone the other way. Against Brown, it can easily be said that Harvard dominated in every phase of the game except the score. And if a couple balls had taken more fortuitous hops against Penn State, Harvard might well have toppled the then-No. 6 Nittany Lions.

"Our strength of schedule is really high," Moore said. "We have played a lot of good teams and we've played them tight."

Indeed, the Crimson's strength of schedule and its high level of play against the nation's best teams will likely loom large in the minds of the selection committee on Sunday. A win over Columbia tomorrow can, and should, gain Harvard a berth.

"It is going to be tough because [the Northeast] is just a solid region," Moore said. "But we were ranked No. 1 [regionally] not more than a week ago, so it would be real tough luck if we didn't get in. I think we deserve it, and I think that the committee will recognize that."