NEWTON--It could have been a disaster.

Instead, it was a blowout.

Against Boston College yesterday, the Harvard women's lacrosse team jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead. That in itself was nothing amazing as the Crimson has dominated the Eagles for quite some time on the lacrosse field.

But when B.C. scored three quick goals to tie it, the game's outcome looked like it might be in doubt. Until, that is, Harvard tallied the next six goals and rolled to an 11-4 victory.

In what was technically a home game for the Crimson--the snow still has not melted off of Ohiri Fields, forcing Harvard to bus over to Alumni Stadium--Harvard was hesitant at the beginning of the contest, not picking up steam until the second half started.

"I thought we panicked a little," Harvard coach Carole Kleinfelder said. "You know, first game, people are nervous--and it showed.

"We weren't tackling tight in the clears, and I still think that our attack never really got into a rhythm that I would have liked," Kleinfelder added.

Nevertheless, Harvard (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) kept B.C. (0-1) at bay. A goal by senior Carrie Shumway right off the draw opened the scoring for the Crimson, and a pair of goals by senior Erin Cleary made it 3-0.

But the Eagles fought back. Holding the ball for long attacks, B.C. managed to avoid the Harvard stickchecks and double-teams, and the Eagles patiently waited for the open shooter.

Soon enough, the first-half clock was winding down and B.C. was licking its chops at the prospect of going into the locker room tied with Harvard.

But it did not happen. Junior Chris Shortsleeve and senior Maria Hennessey scored in succession, and it was the Crimson that went into the locker room with the momentum.

As a result, the second half was not even close. Co-captain Megan Hall tallied a natural hat trick, scoring three goals in a row to begin the second stanza.

The second of those goals was perhaps the turning point of the game. The Eagles had just come off a long attack during which they could not find anyone open for a couple minutes and finally turned it over.

On the other end of the field, Harvard also waited a while for a shot to open, until Hall snatched a pass on the right side of the arc and fired a shot to the left of B.C. goalie Megan McElvogue before she knew what was happening.

Once Hall scored again, the rout was on. Sophomore Beck Stringer tallied a pair and Cleary added one to close out the scoring for the Crimson.

"I think a lot of [the first-half problems were] first-game jitters," junior defenseman Mary Eileen Duffy said. "I think as the game progressed we gained our composure."

Crimson Cornucopia

Harvard's next game is perhaps its most important. On the first Saturday of spring break, Harvard will host fellow Ivy rival Princeton, the second-ranked team in the nation. A key factor for the game will be how soon the snow melts, because until that happens, Harvard has to practice in the confining confines of Briggs Athletic Center.

Senior goalie Shana Barghouti notched her first career start yesterday and her first career win. She was a bit busy, too, notching nine saves, six of which came in the first period. Boston Col  4 Harvard  11

HARVARD, 11-4 at Alumni Field, Boston College B.C.  3  1  --  4 Harvard  5  6  --  11

G: B.C.--Wood (1), Berkery (1), Chave (1), Dominik (1); Harvard--Hall 3 (3), Cleary 3 (3), Stringer 2 (2), Shumway (1), Shortsleeve (1), Hennessey (1). A: B.C.--none; Harvard--Cable, Hall. S: B.C.--McElvogue 18; Harvard--Barghouti 9