W. Soccer to Battle Improved Brown Squad

The Harvard women's soccer team will have to wait a little longer than it expected for the chance to face regional rival Hartford, as thunderstorms on Tuesday night denied the Crimson a chance to catch lightning in a bottle against the top-ranked team in New England.

But even before the weather caused the game to be postponed, the events prior to the scheduled game time left Harvard (2-1, 1-0 Ivy), ranked 16th in the latest poll by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), fuming.

Unbeknownst to the Crimson, the No. 9 Hawks had actually scheduled their game, slated to start at 7 p.m., as the second half of a doubleheader. That unto itself is not unusual, as schools frequently schedule their men's and women's games back-to-back. On this particular day, however, the men's game was running much longer than usual, as the Hartford men's team played to double-overtime against Quinnipiac.

As a result, the Crimson--having just made the trip all the way from Cambridge--did not have access to the varsity locker room usually reserved for the visiting team. In addition, Harvard was forced to take its warm-ups on a low-grade practice area while the men's teams played out their game on the main field.

By the time the first game had ended, officials for the women's game were forced to cancel the contest because of the worsening conditions, leaving the Crimson with a long bus ride home to stew over the incidents.

"They showed us no respect at all," said sophomore midfielder Orly Ripmaster. "To have the game cancelled after all that happened made it even worse."

Doubly frustrating for the Crimson was the missed opportunity to play a much-anticipated contest that would have given Harvard a chance to overtake the top spot in the Northeast rankings.

"That's the game we needed to determine where we stood," Ripmaster said. "It's also difficult not knowing when we will get the chance to play them."

On the plus side, when the two teams do end up playing out the game, Harvard will likely be in better shape in terms of personnel than it would have been Tuesday. While the Crimson's injury status has improved steadily since the start of the season, sophomores Beth Totman (stress fractures) and Katie Urbanic (back strain) are still out.

Most likely, neither will be ready to play tomorrow when the Crimson travels to Providence to face Brown (5-0, 0-0 Ivy).

The Bears, who have yet to play their first league contest this year, are coming off a 1999 season that they would probably just as soon forget. Brown finished the year at 3-12-2 overall and 0-7-1 in Ivy play, their only non-loss in league action coming in a 1-1 tie with fellow cellar-dweller Columbia.

Last season's disaster left the Bears with nowhere to go but up in 2000, and so far, they have shown definite signs of improvement. With wins in its first five games of the year, Brown is off to its best start since the 1984 season when it went 13-1-1 en route to an appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

A major part of Brown's success in its first five games has been its defensive excellence. After surrendering 28 goals in its 17 games last season, the Bears have posted four shutouts already this fall.

Brown's goaltending tandem of Mary Jo Markle and Sarah Gervais have proven specially effective. The pair, which has split time equally in net so far this season, have combined to post a miniscule 0.20 goals-against average.

Against the Bears, the Crimson offense will probably look to shoot a great deal from the outside. That strategy worked beautifully in Harvard's 2-1 win over Penn last Saturday, as the Crimson's game-winning goal, netted by senior midfielder Meredith Stewart, actually came from 30 yards out.

"We practiced a lot on outside shooting this week in practice," Ripmaster said. "We're probably going to focus on that a lot and not so much on pressuring the box [against Brown]."

On the defensive side of the ball, Harvard will need to keep an eye out for Brown forward Kim Lanzire, the team's leading scorer with seven points.

Lanzire notched a goal and an assist in the Bears' 2-1 win against Fairfield last week. Her performance earned her Ivy League Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.

Facing such an improved Brown squad, Harvard will definitely not have as easy a time with the Bears as it did when it beat them 4-0 one year ago. Though the Crimson will not take the Bears lightly, tomorrow's game is certainly one that Harvard can and should win as it pursues its second consecutive league title.

"Being the defending Ivy League champs, we are the biggest game for every other team in the league," Ripmaster said. "But for us, every Ivy game is big."