The absolute last thing Northeastern keeper Kathleen Madaus wanted to see with six minutes left in a deadlocked game was the Crimson's two leading scorers, sophomore Philomena Gambale and freshman Kate McDavitt, rushing the net, side-by-side.

But that was exactly the challenge she faced when McDavitt--with Gambale to her right--found an unobstructed path to the net from the left-center part of the circle. After chancing a pass, McDavitt got the ball back and lifted it over Madaus's left shoulder for the lone score in No. 19 Harvard's 1-0 win over No. 20 Northeastern (7-8).

"Basically I got an open ball, then it was just me and Philomena," McDavitt said. "I tried to pass it flat and it hit the girl's leg, but I just got it off her leg and hit it past the goalie."

The McDavitt goal ended a long string of missed opportunities for Harvard (7-3, 3-0 Ivy) who outshot the Huskies by a lopsided 18-2 margin. The Crimson earned 10 penalty corners and allowed just one for Northeastern.

"I feel a lot of times we had trouble finishing," McDavitt said. "But we're working on it, and I think we'll get better and better."

McDavitt had put together one of Harvard's best scoring chances 10 minutes before netting the game-winner. Taking a pass from junior forward Jane Park, she ran across the face of the net and attempted an amazing leaping shot. All at once, she managed to turn her stick to the legal side, lift the ball, and send it in the opposite direction of her trajectory.

Both McDavitt and the ball went flying off the ground, but Madaus was able to make the save.

The most frustrating moments of the game were the final 10 minutes of the first half, during which Harvard acquired six penalty corners in succession but failed to score.