Young Team Blossoming Into Ivy Contender

Netting a goal in the final second of its last game of the 2009 season, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team ended things with a bang, capturing a 9-8 win over Boston College. The victory capped off a rollercoaster of a season, as the team experienced exciting upsets and many tough losses. The Crimson wrapped up the season 6-10 overall and 2-5 in the Ivy League.

Although a rollercoaster can provide thrills, Harvard hopes for a steadier performance this year, beginning with its first game tomorrow at UMass in Amherst.

Despite the loss of three players to graduation, the team has replenished its ranks, taking on 10 new ones.

“The class of 2009 was a great class and really helped us through the coaching change and every other system change,” co-captain Delia Pais said. “But we’ve now added a very strong freshman class, so their loss is not something we can’t overcome. [The seniors] were helpful, but we’ve been trying to build a structure that survives graduation and brings in a new class ready to take up the mantle of the team.”

In addition to a wave of freshmen, the 2010 season will see the debut of sophomore midfielder Melanie Baskind. Already a talented soccer player, the team is eager to see what she’ll bring to the lacrosse field.

Although the Crimson has many new faces, the team will receive a lot of support from its returning players. Pais returns after a very strong junior season, in which she led the team with 29 ground balls and caused 13 turnovers. Pais’ fellow co-captain, attack Sara Flood, notched 16 assists and 32 draw controls, both team highs.

Another key contributor will be junior midfielder Jess Halpern. In her sophomore season, Halpern was named the Ivy League’s Offensive Player of the Week twice and earned a spot on the All-Ivy First Team.

A large share of the offensive responsibility will also fall on sophomore Tyler Petropulos, who finished last season third on the team with 23 goals while tying Pais’ top mark of 29 ground balls.

Harvard coach Lisa Miller believes that the addition of new players will build depth and take pressure off of players like Petropulos.

“I think that this year we’re going to have breaks where [Petropulos] can take breaks on attack and defensively,” Miller said. “We have depth—she’s not going to have to carry as much of the load as she did last year.”

Also contributing to a deeper roster is the presence of two game-tested goalies—senior Katherine Martino and sophomore Kerry Clark, who is also a Crimson news editor. Miller plans to play both goalies between the pipes based on the opponent at hand.

“I think that they both have a different style, so depending on our opponent, that’s the way it will work out,” Miller said.

To prepare for its season, the Crimson has been focusing on improving the fundamentals of the game—little things that, according to Flood, cost the team wins in the past.

“We had a couple of games last year where we potentially could’ve had a few more wins, but we got off track in terms of the fundamentals, and that put us in a hole,” she said.

The co-captain further stressed the importance of mastering the basic elements of the game.

“It’s a great way to attack the season,” she said. “Once the little things go right, the bigger concept plays can happen from there.”

Besides strengthening their skills, the women have been working on developing strong communication, something important both on and off the field.

“The [team] dynamic is very good, because we have a very vocal and open team,” Pais said. “We need the freshmen, and we need them to be vocal. The lines of communication are wide open between the veterans and the freshmen.”

Harvard will need to apply the skills that are stressed in practice in order to cope with a daunting schedule.

New this year to that schedule is Johns Hopkins, a formidable team bolstered by a fast offense and the expert skills of midfielder Angela Hughes—a senior who played for two years on the U.S. Developmental Team.

Also in the schedule is a match against No. 3 Penn, which enters the season as the three-time defending Ivy League champion. Last year, the Crimson fell hard to the Quakers, 18-9, but Harvard will get another shot at them on the road on March 15.

Other Ivy opponents should pose significant challenges as well—four Ancient Eight teams are ranked in the top 20 nationally.

“All of the Ivy games are usually difficult,” Pais said. “It’s a good league for lacrosse. Most of those will be tough, but we’re ready to play those games because those are the most exciting too.”

Harvard looks to hit the ground running as, after a four-game road stretch, the Crimson will take to Jordan Field for its home opener against No. 12 Boston University on March 17.