The quarterfinal match Sunday afternoon at Matthews Arena was won by the inspired play of the Huskies' third line. The Crimson goalie and defenders had kept the game close. In the end Northeastern's trust in their own players overcame the negative tactics of the game. Rayanne Conway (Kim Drews, Jeanine Sobek) scored first for the Huskies early in the first period. Drews pass found her all alone right in front of the net. Conway's high shot to the glove side zipped in. Harvard came back with a power play goal by Christa Calagione. She skated out of the corner and then flipped her backhander high into the net. There was no scoring in the second period. Play for most of the match was rather slow and tense. In the final period Danyel Howard (Dori Hoagland, Kelly Tapani) gave NU a 2-1 lead on the power play when she stuffed home a second rebound. Tapani (Howard, Hoagland) finished the scoring for Northeastern when she was able to slide the puck under the goalies pads, while on her knees. The play had developed off the third line using a low roll around the Harvard net. Harvard's chance of winning this match was killed by coaching. Go- ing with only two lines does not cut it in the ECAC. As I watched and heard all the talk from the bench I felt like I was witnessing classic over-coaching. Erin Villiotte was huge in goal for Harvard. She not only stopped shots, but managed to break up plays too. My outstanding player of the game would go to defender Winkie Mleczko. She was a tower of strength out there for the Crimson. She just gave such good cover that it gave the rest of the team a chance. Holly Leitzes, playing the match with a broken wrist, did more than anybody could expect. A gutsy performance! Colleen Malek also provide good D and was certainly a big factor for Harvard. Joey Alissi and Diana Clark kept their lines going with their good hard skating and solid back-checking. Christa Calagione played a terrific match. Her skating provided much of the Harvard attack. Overall a match where the Harvard Women should be very proud of their efforts. Well done! Northeastern did not skate well in this match. For some reason they always have trouble playing the Crimson. At first I thought they were just saving it for the last two periods as they could see that Harvard was wearing themselves out. While they did pick up their attack for the last two periods they never got rolling. The third line made up of combinations from Dori Hoagland, Caroline Heatley, Kelly Tapani and Danyel Howard played great. There determination was what made the difference for the Huskies. The outstanding player on the ice for NU was Katherine Wyman. Her defensive skills were superb today. She broke up numerous rushes. Her passing and attack skills were also very good. Shelley Looney had a fairly good skating game, but again seemed too involved in the checking aspects of the match. Rayanne Conway had a particularly good match. Her superior penalty kill skills were among the talents she displayed. Overall, too much control, not enough let it loose and skate. It will be tough going for NU if they continue to play this style next week at the final four. _____________ / good shooting rhun ____________/