As a result co-captain goaltender Shana Barghouti had the most goals-against and saves in the Ivies during league games.
Part of the problem was inexperience. Harvard couldn't practice its transition game too much because the late snowstorms closed Ohiri Field for much of the season and Briggs Athletic Center isn't big enough to do running and catching drills.
Things didn't click until the new players got used to each other and fit into their roles. Freshman Ashley Birch became a scorer and classmate Jeanne Ficociello proved to be good all-around. Their fellow first-year players also found their place; only one (Kim Weeks) did not see significant time.
Junior Honor MacNaughton led the team's attack the whole season, but she had to carry the entire offensive workload early on. In the third MacNaughton remained the offensive star--she led the team with 22 goals, nine more than the next-closest player, senior Chris Shortsleeve. But she didn't have to do it all--in Harvard's final game (a 17-9 win over UNH), MacNaughton led the team with three goals, but five other players scored twice. The same happened to Harvard's defense. Once the Crimson's opponents stopped getting too many easy fast breaks, the back players could do what they did best--stop the set offense. Maryland, the eventual national champion, could only muster five first-half goals on Harvard, while No. 2 Loyola did not run away until it had some fast-break goals. Next year, the problem for the Crimson is that many of these defenders graduate--co-captain Daphne Clark, Liz Schoyer and Shortsleeve, as well as the keeper Barghouti. Senior attacker Liz Hren will also leave