The University of Connecticut fields an opportunistic women's soccer team, and yesterday it showed the Harvard squad what a decisive factor timing can be.

In a game played at Storrs, Conn, before more than 150 spectators, the Huskies demoralized Harvard with an early goal and held on for a 2-0 victory.

National rankings released just prior to the game placed the Crimson (now 8-2-1) fifth in the country, a large but well-earned improvement over last week's 14th-place standing.

UConn, entering yesterday's contest with a 10-2-2 record, was ranked sixth.

What the polls forecast was a showdown between two of the country's top 10 teams.

What resulted was a disappointing loss for a keyed-up Crimson squad that had won live games in a row.

"We played too slowly," Harvard Coach Bob Scalise said later "They beat us to the ball in all the critical situations."

It was the Huskies ability to capitalize on occasionally lethargic Crimson play that made all the difference, and left Harvard down by more than one goal for the first time this year.

Harvard's first costly slip came just 15:02 into the first half.

UConn junior Cathy Shankweiler sent a cross pass to freshman forward Kim Sullivan, who tapped the ball into the net past Harvard freshman goalie Tracee Whitley. The goal seemed to catch Harvard completely off guard.

"On the first goal we thought they were offsides," explained Scalise, "but you shouldn't stop playing until you hear the whistle."

In goal for UConn was a talented freshman, Bonnie Mitchell. The other Connecticut goaltender, senior Laura Skaza, suffered a mild concussion Saturday and missed yesterday's action.

The Huskies' crisp passing and excellent speed made them Harvard's most formidible opponent to date, and kept the Cantabs from controlling play as they had over the past two weeks.

This was only compounded by the booters' frustrating inability to get their timing right. "We didn't shoot soon enough," said Harvard forward Electa Sevier. "We didn't play as well as we're capable of playing."

UConn, meanwhile, continued to click offensively.

At 20:24 into the second half, Husky forward Beth Nacrelli sealed the victory as she snuck the ball past Whitley for the afternoon's second tally, with assists by Laura Mangus and Missy Morrone.

It marked the end of Crimson hopes to topple the highly regarded Huskies. Later shots by Sevier, Ann Baker, and Karin Pinezich were all neatly repulsed by Mitchell.

Despite yesterday's disheartening loss, Harvard is still likely to receive one of 14 bids to the post-season of NCAA tournament. Said Sevier, "I think we're going to beat UConn in the nationals."

Upcoming contests for the booters include Friday's 3 p.m. start at Dartmouth and next Monday's 2:30 p.m. match at the University of Massachusetts.

UMass is tied for second in the nation with Brown, a squad that defeated the Crimson 1-0 last month