That's illegal, so Shumway got to hit a penalty stroke--a point-blank shot--which she easily converted for her second goal.
With the 3-0 lead, Harvard was rolling. The clock ticked under five minutes, and it looked like Milhollin would fittingly register a shutout on the day she broke the save record.
Didn't happen. A Providence corner resulted in the ball rolling around in front of the net, which Bonnie MacDonald put in for the goal. Then, with only four seconds to go in the game, Fortier blasted a pretty corner shot into the lower right side of the cage, making the game seem closer than it was.
It is true that these late goals did not seriously affect the outcome of the game, but they seriously affected Harvard's view of the game.
"They were just letdowns," Caples said. "They're unacceptable."
The goals put a cynical shade on the win. If Harvard had kept the shutout, then there would at least have been the happiness of winning by a large margin. Instead, the ugliness of the contest was the strongest impression.
"We can get away with and aggressive team without much skill," Milhollin said. "But we'll take [the win]."
Tuesday, Harvard takes on Boston University, consistently a very good team, and then travels to Cornell on Saturday. Now comes the important part of the season, when the Crimson needs to be totally confident about its play. The Providence game provided a base for that, which is better than nothing.. First Half Har--Shumway 2 (no assist) 4:54. Second Half Har--Clark 4 (Shumway, Benedict) 22:32. Har--Shumway 3 (Gudeman) 6:23. Prov--MacDonald (no assist) 2:52. Prov--Fortier (no assist) :04 Saves: Prov--Soteraides 5; Har--Milhollin 10.