For someone who didn't play ice hockey in high school's Cheryl Tate has come a long way.

Just ask Northeastern Coach Don MacLeod.

"We should win it," MacLeod says of the 1984 Women's Beanpot. But his confidence in his thirdranked Huskies has one condition--Cherel Tate.

"It's can take a million shots," he warns, "but we still have to hope that she'll Jet some through. If she's on one of her wicked highs..."

And Tate's teammates know what can happen when she gets a "wicked high."

"With Cheryl hot we can win anything," Harvard's Dinne, Hurley says of the All-Ivy goalie and two-time Beanpot MVP.

So how did the Crimson senior netminder--who never approached the ice hockey world until four years ago--become such a star?

Practice. Lots of it.

As a freshman, she almost immediately inherited the starting position when Harvard's goaltending corps were reduced to one. "I was very lucky, because I couldn't really skate yet," she recalls.

Then a sophomore, Tate showed just how far she'd go to bring home a Harvard win. In the opening round of the 1982 Beanpot, she recorded 67 saves in a five-overtime, 3-2 Harvard win over Northeastern. The game lasted just 13 seconds less than 100 minutes, but Cheryl Tate never let up.

"I was exhausted," Tate recalls "But after the first overtime, they weren't going to score on me. We had come too far as a team. It was the first time I've felt so confident, especially that year, since we were supposed to be a joke."

In the ensuing championship game, Boston University and Harvard entered the final period locked in a scoreless tie. It was Tate versus Lisa Whitcomb, a Terrier goalie who had not allowed a goal in four games of Beanpot play. Final score--Harvard and Tate 2, B.U. and Whitcomb 1.

In 1983, after the Crimson breezed past B.C., 12-0, Harvard had a second date with Northeastern. Again, Tate saved the day, stopping 10 Huskie shots in the final; period to give the Crimson a 2-1 upset triumph and its second straight Beanpot.

Needless to say, MacLeod has more than a little respect for the All-Ivy netminder.

"Last year we cutshot them three-to-one," MacLeod says. "Cheryl Tate was awesome. She was miraculous. You don't lose a ot of games when you outshoot [your opponent] three to one."

Tate's success seems to lie in her mental attitude during the games. "I usually am very nervous before games," she says. "I try to just be myself, I find it hard to concentrate on other things. I am very intense, very impatient for the game to start."

"The first save is the hardest," she adds. "If it doesn't come in the first couple of minutes then it gets harder. I start to think about it. I want to just rely on my reflexes."

Relying on her reflexes has gotten Tate a long way this year and in her career. So far this season, she boasts a 2.56 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. For her career, she already holds every Harvard goaltending record.

Not bad for someone who took up the game just four years ago.The Harvard CrimsonAlexander S. RhinelanderCHERYL TATE makes the save.