"Disheartening" doesn't come close to describing it.

"Maddening" won't quite cut it, either.

"How the hell did this friggin' piece of B.S. happen, dammit!?!" is getting pretty close.

The Harvard field hockey team's loss to William and Mary yesterday at Cumnock Field was not a glorious day for the Crimson (1-1 Ivy, 3-6 overall).

3-0 losses, on their own, are not a thoroughly terrible thing. Sure, they aren't a merry walk in the park, but they also are not usually cause to cut off one's right arm in agony.

After yesterday's game all of the Crimson's limbs did remain intact. However, there weren't any sharp objects around to use, either.

"Do you have any questions?" responded Harvard Coach Sue Caples when asked for a comment.

She clearly was at the end of her fuse and wasn't in the mood for any annoying Crimson reporters making open-ended statements.

It was that type of day.

The game began at 2:30 p.m. under the brisk October sunshine.

Harvard started off decently, with some innocuous attacks, and did an all right job of containing William and Mary's offense.

As the first half winded down, the Crimson had some chances for goals that didn't quite materialize.

Nevertheless, to any observer, it seemed to be totally obvious that Harvard would soon score. Each attack looked as though as it had promise, but would break down in some different place each time.

There was a feeling that by the Law of Averages, if nothing else, Harvard ought to score soon.

The problem turned out to be more fundamental than that, however.