Forget about forecasts of a snowstorm today. A bolt of lightning energized the Harvard women's lacrosse team yesterday afternoon at Soldiers Field.

The Crimson won its third game in a row by defeating Massachusetts, 9-6.

Senior Kate Felsen's four goals and two assists helped the Crimson raise its record to 5-2 (2-0 Ivy). The Minutewomen dropped to 4-3-1.

Harvard was erratic throughout the game. At times, it showed why it is the top team in New England.

"At other times, we had trouble picking the ball up," Coach Carole Kleinfelder said.

Suzanne Murphy scored the first of her four goals off an assist from Virginia Armstrong early in the first period to put UMass on top. Felsen got the Crimson on the board five minutes later. With the score knotted at one, Armstrong hit Murphy with another pass, and the sophomore put the ball by Harvard goalie Kelly Dermody.

Then lightning struck.

The Crimson proceeded to score five goals in a seven-minute span to take a 6-2 lead.

"This was a period of time when we were brilliant on offense," Kleinfelder said.

Good Time

Felsen started off the string by scoring at the 9:10 mark of the first half. Ten seconds later, Katie McAnaney put Harvard on top to stay. Felsen then took control, assisting Co-Captain Cindi Ersek, scoring off a feed from Char Joslin, and assisting Ersek with two minutes and thirty seconds remaining in the half.

The Minutewomen, currently ranked 13th in the nation, did not quit, Murphy continued to baffle the Harvard defense, cutting the lead to 6-4, by scoring two quick goals.

Halftime stopped what may have been an important UMass run.

Stick It

Co-Captain Leelee Groome put Harvard up by three. After UMass cut it back to two, Ersek and Felsen iced the game with two goals. Murphy assisted Catherine Fuhrman to close out the game.

While Harvard asserted itself as the top team in the New England, it is currently ranked ninth in the national polls. Only six teams make the NCAA Tournament, and there is no guarantee that a northern team will be invited.

"We have to be more consistent," Kleinfelder said. "They scored on a lot of breakaways."

Kleinfelder praised the play of Felsen and Ersek as well as Karen Everling and Maggie Vaughan. Julia French and Vaughan led the Crimson with six groundballs each.

Felsen's performance gives her 21 goals and seven assists on the season for a team-leading 28 points. She is followed by Joslin (15-5--20).

Going

Harvard plays five games in the next week. The Crimson hosts Cornell Sunday at noon. Harvard should be too much for the Big Red to handle, but Kleinfelder warns, "Cornell will be fired up. They played Dartmouth [Friday]."

The players themselves will be hosting a South Australian All-Star team this weekend. Harvard will play the Aussies on Monday.

The rest of the week includes Ivy contests against Brown and Yale, and a critical game against Maryland, the only team remaining on the schedule currently ranked above Harvard (eighth).

THE NOTEBOOK:Temple, which defeated Harvard over spring break, is currently 9-0 and ranked first in the country. Penn State and William and Mary follow the Owls...Three Ivy teams are ranked in top 15 (Harvard eighth, Penn 10th, and Dartmouth 15th)...Last year, UMass defeated Harvard, 10-8. The Minutewomen currently lead the overall series, 8-4...Before the game, Dermody had a 5.00 goals-against average and a .646 save percentage...Murphy, Armstrong, and Fuhrman, the only UMass players to register a goal or an assist yesterday are also the team's three leading scorers. Murphy has compiled 20 goals, 10 assists for 30 points.