W. Soccer Upset by Brown

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--The Harvard women's soccer team lived out its worst nightmare under the lights of Brown's Stevenson Field on Saturday night.

When the No. 16 Crimson last met the cellar-dwelling Bears in 1999, it was the pinnacle of the season, the last game of Harvard's 10-game win streak and a 4-0 win that clinched the outright Ivy championship.

But the result of this weekend's game was shockingly different. Brown--suddenly rejuvenated by the presence of 10 freshman on its roster--knocked off the injury-laden defending champion Crimson (2-2, 1-1 Ivy) by a 2-0 score.

The Bears (6-0, 1-0 Ivy) took control just 43 seconds into the game when Brown forward Bekah Splaine took a long shot from the upper right corner of the penalty box. The ball was struck hard toward the lower right corner of the net. Sophomore goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther was there in plenty of time, but she was unable to make the save.

"I don't know what happened on the first goal," Gunther said. "I don't know if I had just too much adrenaline. We just didn't play well."

The surprise of the initial goal threw both teams into disarray. Play consisted of mostly kick-and-run soccer for the next 10 minutes.

In the 26th minute, Brown added to its lead with a goal off a corner kick.

Gunther was able to stop the initial shot after the kick came into play but Harvard was unable to clear it out. Brown freshman Michaela Sewall took the subsequent shot, which Gunther blocked but could not control. She was left helpless as Brown's leading scorer, Kim Lanzire, put the ball into the net.

"I went out and unfortunately there were a lot of people, and I punched it straight out, instead of up," Gunther said. "The next girl [Sewall] trapped and shot. I blocked it but it was too point-blank for me to hold on."

It was the third time this season that the Crimson had surrendered a goal off a corner kick. No. 10 Texas A&M exploited Harvard twice in such fashion.

The goal by Lanzire was also the third goal Harvard had surrendered in Ivy play this year, matching its total from all of last season.

The Crimson controlled the ball for most of the rest of the game, tallying 11 shots and 10 corner kicks in the second half, compared to just two shots and one corner kick for Brown.

But Harvard was rarely able to get a well-struck shot on net the entire game. Too many Crimson long shots and corner kicks were shanked, and Harvard never succeeded in gaining control of loose balls inside the box.

Against Penn a week before, the Crimson had managed to struggle through adversity and come from a goal down to win, but there would be no such luck on this day.

"The whole plan was packing the box, but it didn't work," Gunther said. "I think we were sort of panicking the entire game, trying to play catch-up."

Whatever the reason for Harvard's less-than-stellar play, the Crimson did not look comfortable under the lights. Harvard night games are rare. The team would have had one last Tuesday at Hartford, but inclement weather postponed the game to Halloween.

Injuries are still plaguing the Harvard team. Last year's leading scorer, sophomore forward Beth Totman has still not played this season, and sophomore fullback Katie Urbanic is presently sidelined. Sophomore midfielder Bryce Weed has been starting and playing fractions of games, but her injuries thus far have kept her from contributing at the level of her freshman all-American season last year.

The injuries have left Harvard shorthanded when in need of a scoring touch. Freshmen midfielders Katie Westfall and Caitlin Fisher and sophomore Meredith Stewart repeatedly proved themselves capable of beating defenders and setting up scoring chances, but no one was able to finish.

When the final whistle blew, Harvard--just as at the end of last season against Boston College--had to endure the celebration of an opponent it had recently beaten by a 4-0 score.

The Crimson has not lost more than one Ivy game in a season since 1993. This first Ivy loss will have to be its last if Harvard wants to keep that streak of excellence alive.

Harvard will fly out to California in the middle of the week. The pair of games against Loyola Marymount and San Diego this weekend will be the Crimson's first chance to regroup.