Two days ago, the No. 16 Harvard field hockey team discovered that it had earned its first NCAA berth since 1991. The Crimson drew fourth-seeded Wake Forest in the opening round.

"I was surprised to see our name in there so early," Coach Sue Caples said. "It was thrilling. It was an absolutely wonderful moment for our team."

Now that the Crimson (12-5, 6-1 Ivy) is in the 16-team tournament field, the focus has shifted entirely towards beating Wake Forest (14-3) on Saturday morning. A victory would make this year's Harvard team the first ever to win a NCAA game.

"It's the tournament, and anything can happen in the games you play--there are lots of upsets," freshman forward Kate McDavitt said. "It's good being the lower-seeded team because it means we have absolutely nothing to lose."

Wake Forest is the highest-ranked opponent the Crimson has faced all season. The Demon Deacons placed third in the ACC--the nation's toughest conference--behind No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Maryland.

"Down there, they have full scholarships, and their philosophy is to win national championships," Caples said. "But I don't think the ACC has anything different that we don't have. Princeton has been to the final four before. This is the first step for us."

The Crimson is not intimidated by Wake Forest. Harvard will focus on the same fundamentals that it used to get into the NCAA Tournament in order to pull out a victory.

"We've played teams at Wake Forest's level," Caples said. "Our preparation will be the same as it has been. This is nothing new. We've prepared all season for this and then some. We have extremely focused athletes who have had tremendous field hockey experiences already. They are going to thrive as the underdogs."