But the Crimson still had six games left to play, including its final four Ivy matchups. It was time for Part Three, Harvard's resurrection.

The Crimson began its turnaround by edging Cornell, 1-0, on a leaping header by daredevil midfielder Tory Fair. Harvard then played its best soccer of the season in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Dartmouth.

Harvard closed out its season with impressive Ivy victories over Yale and Princeton to clinch second place.

"We ended the season on a great note," Weinstein said. "We just didn't win those close games. It's too bad we needed this season to wake us up, but I hope it will help us for next year."

Looking to 1990

Next year, 10 returning starters will lead the Crimson in its quest to break Brown's stranglehold on the Ivy title. But graduation will deprive the Crimson of Co-Captains Jen Gifford and Andrea Montalbano.

Harvard is already accustomed to playing without Gifford, who missed all but one game of the season with a knee injury.

Replacing Montalbano, a strong candidate for Ivy Player of the Year, will be another story. The senior sweeper anchored the defense all season, and often sparked the offense with aggressive jaunts upfield.

Unless the earth is destroyed before All-Ivy selections can be made next week, she will be named to the first team for the fourth straight year.

"I'm kind of sad it ended for me when we all started clicking," Montalbano said. "I think they'll do all right without me."

Her teammates are already trying to make sure that next year they do better than "all right."

"In the past, players have wanted to take some time off after the season, but this year, we all wanted to start playing right away," Reilly said. "We do expect to win next year. We don't want to look back and say we should have done something differently."

Just four minutes separated the Crimson from success in 1989. In 1990, their video highlights may feature a celebration.