By the start of the second half, opportunity's knuckles were already callused from the constant rapping.

But after a regular season and a half-game of missed chances, the Harvard women's soccer team finally opened the door.

In its opening-round NCAA Tournament game against Central Connecticut State yesterday, the Crimson (12-4-1) defeated the Lady Blue Devils, 4-1, at Ohiri Field. Harvard's victory prize is a trip to the University of Hartford on Saturday to take on the No. 16-ranked Hawks in a round of 32 match-up.

With three goals in the second half yesterday, including two in the first 14 minutes, Harvard broke a trend that has burdened it all season--an inability to turn its numerous scoring opportunities into tallies. When a goal by senior Naomi Miller late in the first half finally put the Crimson on the board, it opened floodgates that had remained shut against lesser teams than the Northeast Conference-champion Lady Blue Devils.

"I was real happy to get that last goal right before halftime," said Harvard Coach

Tim Wheaton. "I think that made a bigdifference, going into halftime one up instead oftied."

It was junior Gina Foster who began Harvard'ssecond-half offensive onslaught. Foster, who inthe first half had been the Crimson's poster girlfor near-misses at the net, saw that chance atredemption so rare in postseason play, and seizedit.

One of several Harvard players streakingforward on a break, she took a ball from seniorback Jaime Chu, saw a clear shot at the net, woundup and fired as the keeper was leaving the box.Foster's intention was to kick it towards the farpost to her left, but with the field and the balldampened from the morning's rains, the ballcareened off the side of her cleat and found itsway into the right corner of the goal.

"I looked up the field and there seemed to beopen space that we could capitalize on," Fostersaid. "I was going to try to shoot it far-post tocheat the goalie a bit since she was goingnear-post, and I did kind of mishit it, but I gotit through. Early on I missed some wide openshots, and I just had to get focused and figureout how to do it."

CCSU Coach Bill Coleman focused his team'sdefensive pressure on the middle of the field,which left room for the wings to streak inrelatively unmolested. While his team succeededin not letting the big guns beat it--leadingscorer Emily Stauffer did not score and leadinggoal-scorer Miller found the net only due tofortuitous positioning--Harvard was able to takeadvantage of its depth and execute on the outside.

"We heard that they were going to double theball in the middle so that might create some wideopen areas outside, and it looked like thathappened," Stauffer said.

Foster's score, at 52:07, gave the Crimson atwo-goal lead it would hold for all of one minuteand 21 seconds. On the ensuing CCSU possession,junior midfielder Amy Smith controlled the ballnear the right endline and sent a booming crossacross the mouth of the goal.

Harvard junior goalkeeper Anne Browning doveheadlong to her right to deflect the ball--rightoff the knee of teammate Ashley Berman and backinto the net. Berman's own goal was credited toCCSU freshman Nicole Davis.

"I was too tentative," Berman said. "The ballwas coming across and I really should have justgotten it out. There was a deflection, and itjust deflected right onto my knee and off of myknee into the goal."

Berman was not done scoring, however. Justover five minutes after her first goal of thegame, she had a second, this time for the goodguys.

CCSU senior sweeper Julie Twaddle actuallybegan the play by attempting to clear the ball outof the backfield. Her kick had not traveled morethan a few inches before it found an unintendedtarget in Berman's hip.

Berman, smelling blood, bounded over Twaddleand found herself in a one-on-one situation withjunior goalie Sarah Reginio. Berman faked to herright then streaked around Reginio to the left andpoked the ball into the left corner of the net.

"We put ourselves under a lot of fire that wasunnecessary," Reginio said. "We did a lot ofstuff that made them look a lot better. We justneeded to be a lot tighter in the back."

Even on their runs, the Lady Blue Devils rarelyhad sustained control of the ball yesterday, whichled to numerous Crimson breaks. Harvard took 19shots on goal to CCSU's five.

Just over three minutes into the game, Millerbeat her defender down the right sideline to awell-placed ball off Chu's foot. Miller sent across to the center of the field for Foster, wholobbed a clean shot straight into Reginio's arms.

It was a pattern that would repeat itself.Several open shots missed just wide of the goaland several crosses were swung at and barelymissed.

At 23:44, Foster got free on a fast break aftera defender's attempted clear veered off her chest,but her blast from the top of the box wasdeflected by a leaping Reginio. Just secondslater co-captain Devon Bingham sent a ball fromthe right endline screaming towards the front ofthe net. Miller raced in from the left side toredirect, but she tripped over Reginio and managedonly to tap it wide of the net.

The play was one of many that drew cries ofprotest from Wheaton and the crowd over whatappeared to be lax officiating. A total of ninefouls were called on a day in which virtuallyevery drive seemed marred by a player spill.

For her part, Miller collected her reparationsat the end of the first half. With under twominutes to play in the half, a Harvard cornertaken by Stauffer found its way to Berman's foot12 yards out.

Berman sent a shot towards the right post thatReginio blocked just to her left. Literallywaiting in the wings, however, was junior BethZotter, who nudged the ball by the keeper and justin front of the goal where the well-positionedMiller trickled it in.

The Lady Blue Devils almost beat Miller to thescoring column when at 27:15 a ball appeareddestined to squeeze inside the right post after aCCSU corner kick. Several players began tocelebrate but the ball was deflected to the rightby a Crimson defender.

That scoring chance would not be indicative ofCCSU's future. The Harvard keepers--Browning andsenior Jennifer Burney, who entered the game at69:51--did not record a save all game. Harvard'sdefense, which boasts five All-Ivy players, wasstellar as usual.

"I didn't feel we established our passing gametoday," Coleman said. "It's one of the few gamesthis season that we haven't owned the ball."

Harvard's final tally, a rocket into the leftcorner of the CCSU goal at 71:31, was notched byjunior Julia Blain.

The Crimson now finds itself as one of 32, thesame position it was in at the start of lastseason's NCAA Tournament, in which it reached thefinal eight. This year's second-round opponent isno stranger. Harvard lost to Hartford, 1-0, onSept. 16, and Saturday's game at Al-Marzook Fieldshould be another close one.

"We expect a real battle on Saturday, and weenjoy battles--that's what we play for," Wheatonsaid. "The games that go down to the wire andreally get the adrenaline going make it fun, andthat's what we expect on Saturday."

Hopefully for the Crimson, yesterday'ssecond-half offensive explosion proves aharbinger. With its next game against a previousopponent, Harvard will have a chance to showwhether it has truly shed its propensity forcoming up short of the goal.

"Ever since the end of our regular season we'vebeen saying, 'This is a new season and we're goingto turn it around and show everyone that we're theteam that we know we are,"' Bingham said. "Thefact that we scored four goals is reallyencouraging and makes us feel really good, but weknow that's something we still need to work on."CrimsonMatthew R. CordellDIP, BABY, DIP: The Harvard women'ssoccer team had little trouble fighting offCentral Connecticut State.