HANOVER, N.H.--Just 10 days ago, the No. 11 Harvard women's soccer team had won its eighth game in a row at Princeton and regained a share of first place in the Ivy race.

Yesterday at No. 21 Dartmouth (11-4, 4-1 Ivy), Harvard (10-5, 4-2 Ivy) watched its Ivy title hopes all but disappear with a 2-0 loss. It was the Crimson's third consecutive shutout defeat, making the lengthy win streak seem ever so distant.

"We knew coming in that we were playing the three top teams in our region and one of the top teams in the country all in a row," Coach Tim Wheaton said. "And the reality is you can play great and still lose."

Just as in the 1-0 loss to No. 7 Penn State last Sunday, Harvard fell behind after allowing a direct kick just outside the 18. This time, 38 minutes into the game, it was a hand-ball penalty that gave Jessica Post, Dartmouth's leading scorer, 10 yards of open space to work with in front of the net.

Post's shot was lobbed high over the Crimson wall and aimed for the right corner of the net. Sophomore keeper Cheryl Gunther had a chance at the descending ball, but it deflected up off her hands and back into the net.

Harvard responded to the goal in the worst way possible--it summarily gave up another two minutes later. The Crimson allowed the Big Green to get numbers on the attack. Post served the ball up to forward Katie Price, who easily headed the ball into the Harvard net. Gunther had no chance.

It was Gunther's sure hands that had kept the Crimson in the game up until the Big Green scoring flurry. Gunther had already faced five dangerous corner kicks in the half before allowing the goal. On the first, she grabbed hold of a loose ball that two Dartmouth players had touched. On the second, she fought through traffic and punched the ball well out of harm's way.

The numbing cold, the strong wind into the near sideline and the snow flurries that frequented the first half all had a major effect on the pace of play. Hard-struck balls that normally would have bounced out-of-bounds stopped short in playable territory. Clears which seemed destined for the halfway line fell yards short. The slow playing surface gave both teams better control at short range.