"I don't think our defense was so bad, we just got beat to the ball," Wheaton said. "We needed to work on being more physical, and staying tight."

The Aggies added a final insult to the day with a third goal in the 89th minute. Ragsdale again was the catalyst, sending a perfectly placed corner kick to the head of midfielder Kristin Strutz, who was stationed at the far post.

Although Harvard got blown out, the result was hardly indicative of the best the Crimson had to offer. Already a young team, Harvard's inexperience was made even worse by key injuries to a trio of sophomores.

Last year's leading scorer Beth Totman and goalkeeping sensation Cheryl Gunther were both out recovering from damages incurred during the summer club season, and tragically, forward Caitlin Butler suffered a likely season-ending ACL tear just a day before the opener.

With Durkin in net, the Crimson found itself with a freshman starter in goal for a second year in row. Although the result this time was not as favorable, Gunther never had to face an opponent at the level of Texas A&M so early in the season.

The defense looked out of sync early on, nearly giving up the ball on a pass back to Durkin in the early minutes. But sophomore Katie Urbanic and captains Lauren Corkery and Brooke McCarthy had many better moments, as each won tough one-on-one battles with Goin and Ragsdale throughout the day.

Harvard scoring opportunities were few and far between. The sudden reduction in forward depth left the Crimson playing a 4-4-2, with junior Colleen Moore and Yenne up front for most of the day. Moore and Yenne each had some long-shot scoring opportunities on the day, but a virtually mistake-free Aggie defense kept them from getting any closer.