A football game that is won by two touchdowns can still be a close game.

When you win by 14 points in basketball, your opponent still might have challenged you for a while.

But a 14-point victory in lacrosse is a blowout, pure and simple.

Yesterday in Burlington, the Harvard women's lacrosse team trounced Vermont, 14-0, purely and simply.

Led by a powerful offense and an adamant defense, the Crimson exploded for 14 unanswered goals as junior netminder Kelly Dermody earned her first shutout of the season.

The most one-sided victory of the year improved Harvard's record to 4-2 (2-0 Ivies).

The Crimson is well on its way to improving on last year's sixth-place finish in the nation and the team threatens to win a second consecutive Ivy League title.

"We're aiming to win the Ivies this year," Senior Kate Felsen said.

If the team plays as well as it did yesterday, there's no limit to the damage it can do to its opponents in the Ivy League and outside.

Goals and Goals

Leading the charge against Vermont was Co-Captain Cindi Ersek, who pumped in a whopping four goals in the first half. Ersek also had an assist on the afternoon.

But while Ersek was the Crimson's top scorer yesterday, she was far from the only one. Felsen, who was a second-team All-Ivy selection last year, and freshman Tori Fair each netted a pair of goals and handed out two assists. Sophomore sharpshooter Karen Everlyn also added a pair of goals to the Crimson scoreboard.

Co-Captain Leelee Groome, freshman Sue Carls, and sophomore Char Joslin also chipped in goals for the Crimson.

Yesterday's decisive victory should send Harvard into Friday's game against UMass with added momentum. The Crimson will take on the Minutewomen at Soldiers Field.

Following the game with UMass, Harvard will stay at home to take on Cornell, Sunday, and play an exhibition game against South Australia, Monday.