Winning just isn't enough anymore.

At least not for the Harvard women's lacrosse team, now ranked second in the nation behind Penn State.

And definitely not against a team it expected to annihilate.

The Crimson took its guns to the University of Massachusetts yesterday and blasted the Minutewomen, 8-4.

But Harvard's self-reports were hardly glowing.

"It was our worst game to date," Co-Captain Katie McAnaney said.

"It was sort of humbling," agreed Co-Captain Lisi Bailliere.

Junior Char Joslin, who had a hat-trick in the game, sported a brighter view.

"It was a decent game," Joslin said. "It wasn't a stellar game."

UMass baffled the Crimson with a zone defense to turn an expected stellar performance into what was just a decent outing.

"We haven't practiced against that kind of play," McAnaney said. "That threw off our composure so they scored first and forced us to adjust."

The Crimson gained its composure quickly enough to put away five shots while UMass managed one more goal, making the score 5-2 at the half.

But the Minutewomen charged head-on again, scoring early in the second half.

The Crimson hasn't had to play catch-up all season, and seeing UMass get first dibs on the scoring left the team unsettled.

"We were rattled throughout the whole game because of [the UMass lead]," McAnaney said. "They made us change our style."