God may have rested on the seventh day, but the Crimson icewomen almost pulled off a miracle.

Coming off a stunning 5-3 victory over a favored Boston University squad in the first round of the 2nd Annual Women's Beanpot Saturday, Harvard played superb first-period hockey in yesterday's final round against Northeastern University, but fell to a tough Huskie squad, 7-1.

A jubilant Crimson team got fired up after outplaying the B.U. Terriers, who narrowly slid by Boston College--2-1 in overtime--in the consolation game to capture third place.

"This is not the year of the Huskie--this is the year of the underdog," defenseman Sara Fischer beamed after playing her finest game of the season against B.U. "We're gonna play the best game we ever played tomorrow--Northeastern's not the only team in the tournament."

For a period, that statement could not have rung truer. Setting down after the first few shaky minutes, Harvard hustled on the offense and presented a solid defensive wall to the frustrated Huskies. Defenseman Alice Hill refused to let Northeastern shoot past the slot, while co-captain Firkins Reed consistently moved the puck up center ice into Huskie territory.

But the Crimson star of the weekend was fledgling goalie Katie Williams who played the entire tournament with the finesse and composure of a pro. Almost every Northeasterner got off a vicious slapshot, but Williams repelled them time and again. She registered an unbelievable 83 saves in the tournament, setting a record almost double last year's high.

Although skilled Huskie netminder Diane DerBerghosian saw only seven Harvard attempts during period one, the icewomen's teamwork and aggressiveness in the offensive zone unparallelled by Northeastern.

The rest of the game, however, was a different story.

During period two, the Crimson substituted a wobbly, slightly off-the-pace style for the synchronization of the first stanza. Just 2:19 into the period. Huskie Diane Sorrenti, eventually the Beanpot's Most Valuable Player, notched Northeastern's first goal in a one-on-one contest against Williams.

While Williams continued to repel Northeastern's bullets from the point, the Harvard defense let up a little and allowed three more Northeastern scores before the period ended.

The icewomen came back during the third period, but never quite regained their period one pizazz. Northeastern continued to tie up the Crimson along the boards and in the corners.

Shooting Star

Three minutes after the Huskies tallied number five on a power play opportunity at 8:21 in the third, Northeastern defenseman Pattie Magrath whacked the single slap shot of the game that eluded Williams, and Sorrenti dumped in the final Huskie goal at 13:17.

Harvard ruined DerBerghosian's bid for a shutout on a bizarre play when co-captain Lauren Norton took advantage of a two-man-down situation and scored with a buzzing wristshot

Right before the goal, one of the referees prematurely had blown his whistle for a Northeastern penalty, but Norton's tally was ruled good anyway. The ref should have let one of the Huskies out of the penalty box, but no one budged.

Despite some sluggish play later in the game. Harvard's stellar first-period performance stood out, in large part because it reaffirmed the icewomen's excellent play of the day before.

Furious Pace

Harvard never fell behind during that game, as B.U. struggled to keep up with the fierce Crimson pace. Terrier Nancy Kilik posed a constant threat, but Harvard kept her in check and she never got past Williams.

Harvard may not have performed a miracle yesterday, but its standout Beanpot play will not soon be forgotten--especially since all three of the other competitors had beaten the Crimson in regular season play. Even amidst Northeastern's happy tears and champagne dousings, Huskie co-captain Christine Yannetty had to admit that Northeastern--likely to win a berth in the Eastern championships--had its hands full.

"Harvard was tough to beat," Yannetty yelled to a fan, then mumbled under her breath, "They were really tough."