Sometimes being talented is the easy part.

As the Harvard field hockey team learned this season, actually translating that ability into wins is the real challenge.

After what appeared to be a ground-breaking season in 1996, in which it went 5-1 in the Ivy League and reached the ECAC finals, Harvard (7-10, 3-4 Ivy) endured a disappointing 1997 season, tying for fourth in the league and seldom showing the brilliance of which it was potentially capable.

Record: 7-10, 3-4 Ivy

Coach: Sue Caples

Highlights: Judy Collins named unanimous First-Team All-Ivy

Seniors: Amy DiMarzio, Beck Stringer

"There was a great amount of talent on this team," said co-captain Amy DiMarzio. "I expected us to do really well this season. But regardless [of losing], I still had a good time."

The Crimson did defeat several ranked opponents, including No. 18 Boston University, No. 20 Penn, No. 17 Boston College and No. 10 Providence.

The Providence win, a 2-1 victory on Oct. 13, seemed ironically to act as a turning point in the season--for the worse. The Crimson rebounded from a 1-0 deficit with two goals by junior Judy Collins to pull off the upset.

Collins, a unanimous First-Team All-Ivy pick for the second straight year, missed the beginning of the season because she was traveling with the U.S. Junior Cup team in South Korea. The two-goal performance was a possible sign that the team's scoring leader was on the verge of tearing up the league.

The victory was the team's third over a four-game stretch and put it at .500 with seven games to go.

"This is what we're capable of," said Coach Sue Caples after the Providence win.

But Harvard went on to drop five of its remaining seven games to stumble past the finish line. It is easy to chalk it up to fate and say that things would have been different if the ball had bounced differently--Harvard played six overtime contests and posted just a 2-4 record in those games--but good teams somehow always manage to have fate on their side.

The team's sub-.500 record made it ineligible for the ECAC Tournament, and a season that started with tremendous promise ended in mediocrity.