Shot after shot from the sticks of the New Hampshire field hockey team rocketed toward the Harvard net.
And for 46 minutes, Crimson goalie Denise Katsias blocked, deflected or sent those shots skidding across the grass and out of the penalty circle.
But even Katsias--the freshman wonder who has kept the stickwomen close in so many games this season with her brilliant defense--couldn't prevent the seventh-ranked Wildcats from escaping with a 1-0 victory over the Crimson yesterday before 30 spectators at Soldier's Field.
With just 14 minutes left, Wildcat forward Karen Geromini took a pass inside the penalty stripe, drove to within eight feet of the Harvard goal and blasted a shot on Katsias.
Katsias blocked it but lost her footing.
Geromini trapped the loose ball and flicked it toward the net. Again, Katsias knocked it down but Geromoni was on top of it. So was Crimson midfielder Bambi Taylor who--in desperation to prevent a sure goal--reached for the ball with her hand and stopped it illegally.
Geromoni converted the ensuing penalty shot for the game-winner.
The victory raised the Wildcats' record to 9-2-3.
The non-conference loss dropped the Crimson's record to 3-6-1, but did not hurt its drive for the Ivy League title. With a 2-1 League mark, the stickwomen are only a half-game behind league-leading Penn.
"We're looking to the Ivies now," Crimson forward Kate Felsen said. "We think we can win all our league games."
The Crimson would have needed a miraculous defensive performance and a goal to win yesterday's contest.
The defense almost came through. Katsias and fellow defenders Anne Kelly, Kristen Fallon, Gia Barresi and Taylor turned back 23 Wildcat shots and 13 penalty corners and frustrated the polished and aggressive New Hampshire offense with shoestring steals and long clearing passes.
"They [the defense] played really well," Crimson Coach Nita Lamborghini said.
But the Harvard offense--save sophomore wing Cindi Ersek--did not come close to scoring a goal. In fact, Wildcat goalie Michele Flannell could have taken the day off--she made no saves.
Katsias, on the other hand, had 14 saves and came close to recording her fourth shutout of the year.
No netminder could have stopped Geromini's penalty shot.
"She [Geromoni] put it right into the left corner of the goal," Co-Captain Anne Kelly said. "That's the hardest kind to defend."
The game was marked by aggresive play by both teams--and by Wildcat low-blows.
"They were a very dirty team," Felsen said. "Everytime number 18 [Sandy Vander-Heyden] went by me, she hit me in the calves or in the hips. They don't need to do that at their level."
Lamborghini was encouraged by her team's performance.
"We keep getting better," Lamborghini said. "And we definitely have a shot at the Ivy title."
If anything, yesterday's loss showed that the Crimson defense is something to be reckoned with and that the offense--after a brilliant showing in a 2-0 victory over Dartmouth Saturday--must rediscover its potency if the stickwomen are going to catch Penn.
THE NOTEBOOK: Crimson forward Linda Runyon sat out yesterday with a collarbone injury. It is not certain how serious her injury is, but she wore her arm in sling... Nicole Simourian, up from the JV team, played in the last six minutes of yesterday's contest... Harvard had four penalty corners.... Geromini took 11 shots, eight more than the entire Crimson team... Harvard had no shots in the second half... The Crimson must win all of its remaining five games to finish with a winning record... Harvard's next game is against Princeton Saturday at Soldier's Field.
Wildcats, 1-0
at Soldier's Field Scoring: NH, Karen Geromini (penalty shot) 56:02 Saves: NH, Michele Flannell, 0; H, Denise Katsias, 14
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