It's called winning ugly.

It's when the offense isn't working, the passes aren't clicking, the players aren't hustling and the defense is getting beat.

But somehow the goals are scored.

It's how the Harvard women's soccer team defeated Yale, 2-0, in New Haven, Conn., yesterday.

Jen Minkus and sophomore Martha Schneider tallied for the Crimson.

The poor play of the Crimson (6-4-1, 3-2-0 Ivy) was disheartening.

"I'm happy we won, but we have to return to our top potential," Co-Captain Robin Johnston said. "We have to start playing like we did against Massachusetts again."

While the team was unhappy with its play, the players clearly relished the victory.

"Good teams win when they play well and win when they play well and win when they play badly," Minkus said. "I guess today we proved we're a good team."

While the Crimson is a good team, it did not play like one against the upset-minded Elis.

In the first half, Harvard played so poorly that it made lowly Yale (3-9-1, 1-4-0 Ivy) look good.

The Elis exploited Harvard's slack midfield defense and kept play dangerously close to the Crimson goal box.

"It was easy to get frustrated against their short passing game," midfielder Betsy Miller said. "If you played your man tight, she simply passed three feet to another player. We had to lay off."

Harvard's defense toughened in the box, however. The Bulldogs got off several excellent shots, but Crimson goalie Brooke Donahoe made the necessary saves to keep the game scoreless.

"We totally dominated the first half," Yale Coach Felice Duffy said. "Our game plan was really clicking."