Before the game, during the game, even for a while after the game--the Harvard women's lacrosse team didn't know.

Just hours before the Crimson trounced Dartmouth, 13-5, yesterday at Ohiri Field to claim its third consecutive Ivy League title, the National Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association had announced its national rankings.

But Harvard hadn't heard, didn't know.

The Crimson expected to be number one. It was almost inconceivable that Harvard wouldn't be ranked number one.

After all, the Crimson (10-0 overall, 6-0 Ivy) is the only undefeated team in the nation. Last week's topranked squad--Penn State--fell to Princeton last Wednesday. And Harvard already had defeated the Tigers--in a decisive 6-2 victory at Princeton in late March.

But Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder knew. She had checked, had already found out.

Harvard wasn't first. Or even second. The Crimson went down in the polls this week--into third place behind Penn State and Princeton, who are tied for first.

Kleinfelder didn't tell her players. She didn't want them to know.

And she's glad she kept the news to herself.

Harvard took the field thinking it was a number-one team. And the Crimson, again, played like a number one team.

Carole Kleinfelder was happy.

"You bet I'm pleased," Kleinfelder said. "I thought we needed a big game today. We just weren't really clicking. If you look, you'll see that this was our second largest-scoring game."

"We have been struggling with the attack," Kleinfelder continued. "I thought they came together today. It was nice to finish with that--it sets us forward again."

No Hope

Seventh-ranked Dartmouth (8-4, 3-3) didn't have a chance against the Crimson. Sure, the Big Green had Anne Moellering, who has already tallied a school-record 57 points (52 goals, five assists).