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Women Booters Await NCAA Bids

Crimson Invitation Expected Today

Members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) met late last night to determine which 14 women's soccer teams will be a part of the 1984 NCAA tournament.

Their decisions are due out this morning, and the Harvard women's soccer team is almost a sure bet to receive one of the prestigious bids.

So for Harvard, 11-2-1 on the season, the big question is not whether it'll make the tournament but just how highly it'll be seeded.

Harvard Coach Bob Scalise expects his squad to be either the fourth, fifth or sixth seed in the tournament, which gets under way this Saturday at sites across the country.

A fourth-place seeding would put the booters at home for the first two rounds of play, whereas a fifth or sixth-place ranking would ensure only one tournament game at friendly Ohiri Field.

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After that, a fifth or sixth seeding would mean the Crimson would have to travel for a second round game.

The third and final rounds will be played Nov. 10-11 at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Crimson, ranked seventh in last week's national coaches' poll, pulled off a stunning 1-0 upset of the fourth-ranked University of Massachusetts squad last Monday. That victory, along with Friday's 2-0 triumph over Princeton, should boost the booters in both the NCAA and coaches' polls.

A new coaches poll is also expected to be released today.

The Princeton game, Harvard's first of the year under the lights, marked the ninth time that freshman goalie Tracee Whitley has shut out the opposition. The nine shutouts are an all-time Crimson record. Whitley recorded five saves on the night, and freshman Karin Pinezich and all-time leading scorer Kelly Landry provided the two goals.

Brown Wins Ivies

Even the win, however--the Crimson's eighth in its last nine games--wasn't enough to secure an elusive and coveted Ivy League crown.

Brown won its third title in a row, by virtue of its 3-1 decision over Dartmouth Saturday in its regular season finale. That triumph brought the Bruins' record to 5-0 in the Ivies and 13-0-1 overall.

Harvard, which will close out its regular season tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. on Ohiri Field against Yale, is currently 3-1 in the Ivies and could at best finish one-game back.

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