According to everyone involved, last night's battle between the No. 20 Harvard field hockey team and No. 9 Massachusetts was as well played and hard fought as a collegiate field hockey game could be.

The two teams proved themselves to be more than worthy of their respective nationally rankings, as each executed cleanly enough to extend a 0-0 stalemate deep into the night.

Then, after 89 minutes of deadlock--four minutes into overtime number two--UMass (7-2) finally found a way to beat Crimson freshman keeper Katie Zacarian. Harvard (5-2, 2-0 Ivy) was sent home with its ultimate goal unfulfilled.

"We played our hearts out," Harvard Coach Sue Caples said. "That was end-to-end, a complete hockey game. I don't think either team can be disappointed or sorry. Both teams executed today."

Zacarian, in her first game since earning Ivy Rookie of the Week honors, did everything for her team but hold down the win. She stopped 19 UMass shots before the night was done, and she forced the Minutewomen to make the perfect shot in order to beat her.

It wasn't until four minutes into the second overtime that UMass was able to find that shot. Minutewomen forward Kristen Schmidt had come close just moments before, skirting around the Harvard defense and unleashing a low shot that Zacarian kicked out of bounds.

But then UMass midfielder Patty Robinson made the perfect attack on the subsequent play. Taking the ball from the left corner and digging from some hidden reservoir of strength, she darted along the end line towards the net at full speed. After evading the Harvard defense, she unleashed a hard shot past Zacarian from point-blank range.

"It was a great goal," Zacarian said. "She started in, it was a great shot, very hard, she just came along suddenly. What can you do? It was still a great game overall."

It was Zacarian's clutch play that kept Harvard in the game early on. In the first half, UMass barraged her with five penalty corners, but she held strong and stopped every one, and even managed to kick most of them out of the zone to silence any hope of a rebound.

Outside of Zacarian's stellar effort, the game's extreme length was made possible by clutch Harvard defensive plays in overtime and the aggressive Harvard offense which turned the game around in the second half.

Field hockey's overtime rule, which reduces the play from 11-on-11 to 7-on-7, opens up the game and makes every single defensive stop crucial. On at least three occasions in the pair of overtimes, UMass broke downfield with an odd man rush, and every time sophomore back Katie Scott stepped up, stole the ball, and turned the momentum in Harvard's favor.

Although the Crimson was outshot 22-5 on the day, the statistic was hardly indicative of the relative number of scoring chances each team had, especially in the second half.

Harvard controlled the tempo for most of the second half, keeping the ball out of its end. Most importantly, the Crimson shut the Minutewomen out of penalty corners for the half, after playing life-and-death field hockey in the first half.

Four of Harvard's five shots on the day came in the second half--most of them off of penalty corners taken by senior midfielder Liz Sarles.

One of the Crimson's best scoring chances of the day came when one of Sarles's shots rebounded loose in front of the net. Harvard was able to get at least two touches on the ball, but the UMass defense blocked everything and was able to clear.

"We had our chances today," Caples said. "The kids left it on the field."

Zacarian's competitive edge, in particular, came from the nature of the opponent. Her hometown, Amherst, is also the home of the Minutewomen.

"It was kind of a homecoming for me," Zacarian said. "There were lots of teammates, rivals, and friends. That made it very fun, but disappointing all the more."

It was Harvard's second heart-breaking loss in a row to UMass, the Crimson having blown a 2-0 lead against the Minutewomen last year. Harvard has come oh-so-close to beating Top 10 opponents in the past two seasons, but no game was closer than this one.

Although the loss was disappointing, the Crimson should have no trouble coming back. The outlook was positive all-around.

"We will rebound," Caples said. "How we respond will be a test of character. I have all the confidence in the world we will come back."

Soothing the loss is the memory that Harvard was able to push nation's ninth-best team to its limit. In a game against a NCAA Tournament-caliber team that exhibited a postseason level of play, the Crimson players proved once again that they can compete with the best.