Kiss that proverbial monkey good-bye.

"I was relieved," remarks Collins on her first goal. "I had so many chances to put them in. To finally get the first one under my belt relieved lots of pressure."

At 4-8 (0-3 Ivy), the Crimson players will be the first to admit that their record is disappointing, but the team has lots of offensive potential. The players just haven't had much luck in the scoring department.

"It's kind of frustrating," Collins says. "Everyone is so good, but we can't get the ball in the net. It's not like any team has dominated us. We look back on each game and think we could have won it."

While Harvard definitely could have won more games so far this year, it has good reason to be optimistic about the future.

With only three seniors and four juniors on the squad, the Crimson will have an experienced nucleus in upcoming years.

"We have kind of a young team," Collins says. "If we continue to develop, we're going to be good."

As for short-term goals, Collins need look no further than tomorrow's game at home against Ivy rival Princeton.

This game takes on a special significance for her. Her older sister Karen Collins--one of her first field hockey mentors--will be on the sidelines as an assistant coach for the Tigers.

"I hope we win," Collins says. "I think it'll be fun, since she'll be cheering for me."

Maybe Karen Collins should rather be fearing that she has trained her younger sister too well.