"[Foster] is a great frontrunner for us,"Wheaton said. "It would be a big loss if she can'tplay."
Freshman forward Colleen Moore replaced Foster,the match continued and Harvard continued itsdomination. The Crimson created several excellentscoring chances, including breakaways by Stauffer,Berman and Zotter that all resulted in shots goinginches wide of the goal.
Despite the slim 1-0 lead, Yale never mountedmuch of an attack. Harvard's defense playedbrilliantly once again, and there was never a realthreat of the Elis tying the score.
Junior sweeper Jessica Larson anchored anaggressive defense that challenged Yale's forwardsfor control of the ball before the Elis couldchallenge the Harvard goal. Sophomore LaurenCorkery and seniors Jaime Chu and Ashley Marynickconsistently won balls from Yale's strikers andfilled in behind one another well.
"Our defense is always awesome," Miller said."I love watching them play. I don't see anotherdefense in the country that is as good as ours."
Junior goalkeeper Anne Browning recorded foursaves, returning to the starting lineup afterbeing sidelined with an injury for the last twogames. Seniors Jen Burney and Meredith Bagleyfilled in for Browning while she was hurt, andHarvard did not miss a beat.
"We don't think of Jen as being a second-stringgoalkeeper; we think of them both beingfirst-string goalkeepers who can play for us,"Wheaton said. "We have absolute confidence in allof our goalkeepers."
While Harvard's defense kept Yale in check, theCrimson kept trying to notch an insurance goal. Inthe 60th minute, the Harvard offense finally brokethrough, thanks in part to some fancy footwork byStauffer.
Harvard worked the ball up the left side withsome nice combinations, and it finally came toStauffer, who made a gorgeous pass to Moorethrough the legs of a stunned Yale defender. Asthe crowd gasped in awe of Stauffer's mastery andthe Elis' defense attempted to get back into itscollective shorts, Moore crossed the ball toBerman who blasted a shot inside the near postpast a diving but helpless Peterson.
"Yale is definitely a good team, and we knewthat coming in," Stauffer said, "but we knew thatif you looked at our rosters, we had more talentthan they did."
"It was really nice to dominate right from thebeginning, but I wouldn't say that we were allsurprised," Stauffer added. "I think we've come toexpect that from ourselves, and it's nice thatwe're finally doing it."
Yale's only tally of the match came with 13seconds remaining and proved inconsequential,except where pride is concerned. Yale juniorTheryn Gibbons' goal snapped Harvard's string of315 minutes without allowing a goal. It was alsothe first goal allowed this season by Burney, whoreplaced Browning with five minutes remaining.
Even before the start of the match, it wasclear that the Crimson was prepared for anychallenge Yale might have presented. Harvard'splayers marched onto Ohiri Field in two singlefile lines cheering and chanting during the secondhalf of the men's soccer game that preceded theirown.
"We just came out with enthusiasm," Millersaid. "We had so much energy and so much desire. Ican't explain it. I could tell we were going towin. We were very ready."
The Crimson outshot the Elis 14-9 and tookseven corner kicks to Yale's two. Harvard'soffense has been excellent since the Crimson's 1-0double overtime victory at Columbia on Sept. 19and is showing no signs of slowing down.
"We're starting to play better," Berman said,"but we have the potential to be even morepowerful. We're just going to explode."
Behind already-brilliant play and constantimprovement, Harvard may be well on its way to afourth consecutive Ivy League championship.
ScoringHar--Foster (Stauffer) 1:11.Har--Berman (Moore, Miller) 59:54.Yale--Gibbons (Unassisted) 89:47.