They sweep down the field with lightning speed, overwhelming everything in their path. Their play thus far in 1996 can be summed up in one word: dominating. That is the only way the Yale women's lacrosse team can be described. Building on their ECAC Championship season of one year ago, the Elis have jumped out to a 6-0 start this season, capping that spurt off with a win over Harvard this past Wed., Apr. 3 by a score of 14-7. Earlier in the week the Elis trounced a hapless Vermont squad 14-2.
Leading the way for the Blue against the Crimson was Ali DeLaCruz, ES '97, who scored three goals. Betsy Hagmann, BR '97, Kathy Koegler, DC '96, and team captain Sharon Langhoff, CC '96, all tallied two goals for Yale. Langhoff is the team leader in goals scored, while Erin Porta, MC '99, has made an immediate impact, leading the team in assists.
The Blue have used a quick, trapping man-to-man defense to stymie opponents all season. "We have excellent team speed," Langhoff said, "and that has made us extremely good at double-teaming in the midfield and getting the ball back quickly."
Faced with a challenge from the Crimson, the Elis responded with versatility and ferocity that belied the six first-time starters on the team. According to Langhoff, "We weren't really playing our game against Harvard. What we did do was adjust brilliantly to their defense. While it would have been nice if we had controlled the game more, it is a really good sign that we can adjust well and beat an opponent under those circumstances. This win was huge," she continued, "they're traditionally strong, and this really sets the tone for the remaining Ivy League games."
The Elis will complete their Ancient Eight season before the end of classes, with all the Ivy League games bunched in the heart of the team's schedule. Next up for the Elis is Cornell, followed by Brown, and then Ivy powers Princeton and Dartmouth.
The Brown-Princeton-Dartmouth run will be crucial for Yale, with all three teams having solid seasons thus far.
This weekend's game against the Big Red will provide the Elis with another potential blowout victim. "Cornell plays a man-to-man defense, and we really love that because we have great speed and good one on one players," Langhoff said. The Elis have been winning with their individual skills thus far, but Langhoff has seen a steady improvement in team play.
"We are a young team, and we've been coming together more and more over the past few weeks. We've been getting better all around, especially in the fundamental things like throwing and catching," Langhoff explained.
The team will need to be solid in its timing and teamwork if it wants to beat a team like Princeton later this season. A good team using a zone to slow the Elis could give them problems, but Langhoff doesn't think it will matter. "To beat the zone we have to use more cuts, flood the field more, things like that. What we like to do is to use the midfield turnovers to create fast break opportunites for our speed. We just try to play our game-a transition style game. We adjusted to Harvard well, and hopefully we'll be playing well together when we get to our toughest opponents."
The blowouts have meant that this young team hasn't really been tested, but Langhoff thinks that will work itself out. "Inexperience is our biggest problem, but everyone has stepped up wonderfully, and we've come together well," she said.
Using their speed and aggressive play in the middle, the Elis hope to continue to overwhelm their opponents in the coming weeks as thoroughly as they have done to date.
The team's youth may yet hurt them, but with rookies like Porta and goalkeeper Alison Cole, ES '99, making big contributions, it is likely that the Blue will have all the experience they need at crunch time.
Keeping focused will be one of the biggest challenges for this talented team, but Langhoff thinks they can get things done. "We are just trying to take things one game at a time, and hopefully that will end in an Ivy title."
Copyright 1996, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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