W. Booters Set Sights on Elis

The Harvard women's soccer team (5-4-1, 2-2-0 Ivy) may be out of the race for the league title.

But Coach Tim Wheaton is on a mission.

"We want to prove we can beat anybody," he said after Saturday's 2-1 loss to Cornell.

The team knows it is better than its .500 Ivy League record indicates.

Wheaton is out to prove it to the rest of the Ivy League.

And with upcoming games against Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth, the Crimson has plenty of opportunities to flex its muscle, starting with today's match against the Elis (3-8-0, 1-3-0 Ivy) in New Haven.

Bombs Away

Yale had better take cover. Harvard is angry, and Wheaton is channelling that anger at the Bulldog goal.

"This team is loaded for bear," Wheaton said.

The fact that Yale is the opponent raises the intensity level even higher.

"Any Harvard-Yale game is very emotional," Yale Coach Felice Duffy said. "These games are very unpredictable."

If Harvard can focus its intensity and emotion, Yale should be no match for the powerful Crimson team.

But Yale is poised for the upset, with a game plan attacking the Crimson's weaknesses.

The Bulldogs' offensive philosophy hinges on ball control and time of possession.

"Yale wants you to chase them around," Wheaton said. "They're not going to give you the ball."

The longer Yale can control the ball, the fewer opportunities Harvard will have to score.

But Harvard already has difficulty putting the ball in the net. Its strength has been generating scoring opportunities, not scoring.

So, if Yale can limit the number of shots on goal, Harvard could be in trouble.

Communication in the backfield is another problem that has plagued Harvard. Yale's short-passing motion offense could bewilder the defense.

The Bulldog offense has confused defenses in the past. Belying its 3-8 record, Yale has outshot its opponents, 217-164.

If Yale can score early and gain confidence, Harvard could lose its edge and the game.

But all this is a worst-case scenario.

The reason Yale is 3-8 is because it has been outscored, 18-10. The Elis have been shut out six times.

Bulldog goalie Tina Pihl has a 2.13 goals-against-average, while opposing goalies have a 0.87 GAA when playing Yale.

Against Cornell, Yale was walloped, 5-0. Harvard played far below its potential and lost, 2-1.

Furthermore, Yale has lost seven of its last eight games, while Harvard has won three out of its last five.

If the Crimson plays like it has in its victories over Holy Cross and Massachusetts, Harvard should walk away in triumph.

Duffy, however, concedes nothing to the Harvard squad.

"In these games, you just don't know how the teams are going to play. Anything can happen," she said.

But in the end, Duffy's 'anything can happen' refrain, while true, is a case of grasping at straws. Harvard is the superior team.

That nagging feeling, though, just won't go away.

"We want to prove we can beat anybody... This team is loaded for bear." -Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton