The nation's seventh-ranked Harvard women's lacrosse team woke up after a brief nap in the second half to defeat 10th-ranked Maryland, 10-7, yesterday afternoon before 70 spectators at Soldiers Field.

"Maryland is a really good team," Harvard goalie Kelly Dermody said. "This was our most challenging game since we lost to Temple."

The Crimson (9-2 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) also defeated Yale, Saturday, 14-3, in New Haven. The win over Yale assures the Crimson of at least a tie for the Ivy League title.

The weekend sweep bolstered Harvard's chances of a bid in the six-team NCAA Tournament. Harvard has won three games since the last rankings came out.

"I would think the Maryland game would help us," Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder said of her team's chances to the post-season tournament.

"There is a good chance we'll move up," Dermody said.

Maryland Coach Sue Tyler disagreed. "The playoffs chances are relatively slim for Harvard," she said. "When number seven beats number ten at home, it's no big deal."

Harvard made a big deal of jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead in 10 minutes, on two goals from Kate Felsen and a goal from Co-Captain Leelee Groome. The Terrapins got on the board a few minutes later. The Crimson seemed to be in control at halftime when it held a 6-3 advantage.

"We won the game at the midfield," Kleinfelder said.

Zzzz!

Sophomore Char Joslin extended the lead to four, 45 seconds into the second half. Then, like the hare, Harvard took a nap and the Terrapins began a furious comeback.

MaryAnn Oeigoetz reduced the Maryland deficit to 7-4 with 17:22 left to play. Dermody then kept the Crimson in the game, thwarting three penalty shots, in a three-minute span.

"It was nice of us to shoot the ball right into her stick," Tyler said. "Our passes were off, and we didn't fake our shots."

After another Oeigoetz tally, Maryland goalie Kim Chorosiewski stuffed Felsen and then denied a rebound attempt by Joslin.

Michele Uhlfelder then fired a penalty shot past Dermody, wrapping it around the opposite pipe, to cut the Harvard lead to 7-6.

"The momentum had shifted," Dermody said.

Then, the alarm clock sounded and Harvard woke up.

Soon after the draw, Joslin hit Felsen for a score. The goal, however, was disallowed when the referees called Felsen for an illegal stick. Now, the Crimson was wide awake.

"We came out with reckless abandon," freshman Sue Carls said. "Then, we panicked a little. The stick check really fired us up."

A minute later, Felsen, armed with a new, legal stick, fed Groome. Groome's goal was all Dermody and her defensive crew would need.

Give 'n Go

After Dermody saved another key penalty shot, Karen Everling-- playing at defense for the injured Maggie Vaughan-- worked a textbook give-and-go with Lila Rifaat, and then dodged two defenders for a coast-to-coast goal.

Oeigoetz made it interesting with her third goal. This cut the lead to 9-7 with 5:38 to play. Carin Peterson had a chance to bring the Terps within one with 2:40 left, but Dermody stuffed her penalty shot once again. Felsen completed her hat trick to round out the scoring.

Groome compiled a hat trick to accompany her four-goal effort against Yale.

"Leelee is really coming on strong at a great time," Kleinfelder said.

Kleinfelder also praised the groundball hustle of Co-Captain Cindi Ersek, Everling's adjustment to defense, and the play of Nicole DeHoratius, who contributed two first-half goals.

Two To Go

Harvard faces Dartmouth tomorrow in Hanover as it tries to win an outright Ivy League crown. The regular season concludes Saturday at New Hampshire.