"We have to take better shots," captain Megan Colligan (sweeper) said. "They have to be shots and not things that we just direct at the goalie."
The Tribe's goaltender, Sarah Witkowski, easily brushed aside all the slow ground balls coming her way, and the score at half was 0-0.
In the second half, Harvard's victory seemed to be even more certain.
Through the first 15 minutes after halftime, the Crimson completely controlled the rhythm of the game. But the offense still could not score for the same reasons as before.
Then, the Tribe went on the warpath.
The team that didn't have the slightest glimmer of an offensive opportunity in the first 50 minutes of play suddenly broke away from the Harvard defense in a 3-on-1 breakaway.
The Crimson's junior goaltender, Jessica Milhollin, tried to dive and stop it but failed.
"The individual defense was weak," Caples said. "All the footwork on defense needs work."
Harvard never gained back any momentum. Essentially, the game was over.
William and Mary scored again on another breakaway, and then added a third.
But it really didn't matter.
"I didn't think that they were that good," Colligan said. "[But] all of a sudden you find yourself down 1-0, then 2-0,..."
And all of a sudden, the game that Harvard should have won turned into a thrashing on the Crimson.
Ivy Notes: The new Top 20 poll has come in, and the Ancient Eight (seven in field hockey--no Columbia) is movin' on up.
Princeton moved from the 17th slot to the 11th, and Penn rose up two places to 16.
What's more, Dartmouth may also sneak into the poll soon. The Big Green defeated #20 UNH and tied Penn earlier this year.
The Ivy League Player of the Week is Lauren Demski, a Dartmouth goalie, who has a shutout streak of four games...the Rookie of the Week is Princeton midfielder Kathleen Kelly, her second such award this season....Harvard Captain Megan Colligan is on the Honor Roll for her two assists in losses to Penn and B.U. and for general defensive fortitude.