"Everyone played really well," Munoz said. "We just came out with a lot of confidence."

That confidence seemed to be lacking in the next game against UMass, even though the Crimson entered the game with reason to be optimistic. Although the No. 11 Minutewomen were 12-3 all-time against the Crimson and had defeated them twice this year, Harvard had given UMass a major scare at the New England Invitational.

"We've gone from being an all-right team to being a legitimate threat," Jess Gunderson said after the Invitational. "Other teams recognize this and know that they have to play better against us."

Gunderson proved the prophet this weekend, as the Minutewomen rose to the occasion. UMass set the tone early by erupting for six unanswered goals in the first quarter, and tacked on another goal in the second stanza.

The Crimson was unable to break the shutout until the third quarter, but UMass continued to pour it on with three more goals. By the time Harvard solved UMass goalie Dana Sinkwich by putting three scores on the board in the final quarter, the game was out of reach. Sinkwich made 8 saves for the Minutewomen.

The Crimson had a similarly tentative start against Princeton. The Tigers leaped out to a five-goal cushion at halftime.

However, the Crimson regained its composure during the break, and held Princeton scoreless for the rest of the game.