The Harvard women's soccer team is a team of first-evers.

In 1978 the booters ended their second varsity season by taking the first-ever Ivy League tournament. Last year, they again won the Ivies, and followed by being co-titlists with Cortland State in the first-ever women's intercollegiate And this season, the booters took part in the first-ever women's intercollegiate national championships, last weekend in Colorado Springs.

The Crimson didn't place first in the nationals, losing to Cortland in the semifinals before beating the University of North Carolina to finish third. But the booters were a part of the tournament, the gracious recipients of a chance to show their stuff to teams from across the nation, a chance to find out who really was the best.

"It was a super experience because it brought women's soccer teams from all over the country--the champions from a lot of different regions--together," Crimson coach Bob Scalise said yesterday. "And it definitely showed that the East has the greatest number of the best teams. From now on, the rest of the country will look to the East for leadership in women's soccer."

Harvard will be a big part of that leadership. The Crimson has, as its tournament record indicates, been a trendsetter in the women's soccer world. And should be for some time to come.

What was it like to play in the national tournament? For Harvard co-captains Sue St. Louis and Gia Johnson, it was probably the perfect way to close out their Harvard careers.

"It was tremendous, such a thrill to be at the national tournament," St. Louis said. "It's funny too, because when I was there I really felt that we should have won. Now I'm really proud that we got third place. It's something special that I'll remember all my life."

"It was a great experience for Harvard to be represented," Johnson said. "And the East showed that we have some really strong teams."

For three Harvard players--Kelly Gately, Laurie Gregg, and Cat Ferrante--the weekend was also extra special. All three were named to the national tournament team, Gately as a fullback, Gregg at midfield, and Ferrante in the forward position. To honor their achievement, the three players received T-shirts which said "All Tournament team" on the front and "Holiday Inn' on the back. Hey, it's only the tournament's first year. Maybe next year they'll give out engraved watches or something like that.

All three players prefer to consider the tournament as a whole, rather than on their individual achievements. And all three felt the weekend definitely proved worthwhile.

"Even when we were actually in Colorado, I couldn't believe we were there," Gately said. "It was great, but I wish we'd had more time to go out and see everything."

Gregg, a visiting junior from Lehigh--which doesn't have a varsity women's soccer program--has been thinking about going to the nationals since she first found out at the beginning of this season that it was a possibility.

"It was sort of like a dream-come-true type thing," she said. "It was a good experience for the team and for women's soccer as a whole. And besides the soccer, here we were in Colorado with all the mountains and stuff. It was great."

Ferrante didn't get to see the mountains because it was cloudy where she was staying, but she had a good time anyway.

"I just kept thinking that it was so amazing to be able to go to Colorado," she said. "Except for the really bizarre weather, it was a lot of fun. And we started playing really well together in the games. I think it was the best soccer we've played all season."

The players were quick to point out that the alumni, in whose homes the team stayed, played a big part in making the trip a great one.

"They were really excellent," Ferrante said. "They gave us breakfast, and the guy we stayed with came to every one of our games and stood in the cold and watched us play."

Yes, the cold.

The day before the team arrived in Colorado, the temperatures hung around the mid-70s during the day. The day of their first game and the days of all the games had highs in the 20s. There was snow, and the fields were rock hard. The only consolation may be that next year's tournament will be in North Carolina.

Believe it or not, the Crimson even had some fans. Laurie Gregg's parents made the trip out to Colorado, as did Gia Johnson's. Ann Diamond's mother stopped on her way back to California from the East coast to watch the games. Wendy Sonnabend's mother, also on her way to California, made the stop in Colorado too. And last year's captain, Ellen Hart, who lives in Colorado Springs, and last year's All-Ivy goalkeeper Wendy Carle, who flew up from Texas on the spur of the moment, also got to see the team. Not bad for 1800 miles away.