Cabot House Women Field IM Football Team

The intramural football team from Pforzheimer House that showed up to take on Cabot House yesterday was in for a surprise.

Their opponents were easy to spot from a distance, all dressed in red t-shirts. And they were all women.

Fielding the first female intramural (IM) football team at Harvard, Cabot's third-ranked squad lost to the top-ranked Pforzheimer team 34-0.

"It's only our second time playing together as a team," said Julie A. Roden '00, IM representative for Cabot House and one of the players on the squad. "I think we'll get better as the season progresses."

The women's team is, oddly enough, the result of renovation in the intramural fields across the river. Women at the College have played co-ed intramural football in the past, but since football fields closed this fall for the installation of lighted Astroturf, they can only play in co-ed play-offs in November. That leaves three months without play--unless they join the A-League, a more competitive level that has previously been all-male.

"We've shortened co-ed touch football and co-ed soccer to tournaments. This is simply out of necessity," Director of Intramurals and Recreation John Wentzell said. "It's important to realize that A-League football is open to both men and women."

Although Cabot House is fielding two other football teams, Suzanne E. Philips '92, Cabot IM tutor and one of the team's leaders, gave her reasons why students formed a team of their own.

"A-League football has traditionally been guys' football. If a girl was really good at football, she would be hesitant to play A-League, because she would usually be the only girl on the team," Philips said.

Philips was adamant, however, that the team was not "making a statement" or trying to criticize the intramural program.

Pforzheimer opponents on the field welcomed the women's team in spirit.

"I thought they played really hard," said Paul A. Greer'01.

The game was closely contested during the first quarter, but soon after Pforzheimer started to pull ahead. Several staff members and students, primarily Cabot supporters, gathered along the Quad to watch parts of the game.

"I think it's great. I hope they win," said Cabot resident Mike S. Passaportis'00.

"They might not win this game, but they'll win at least one game this year," said Henry C. Quillen '00, also a Cabot resident. "Some of these girls could play for Cabot number one or number two if they wanted to."