W. Lax Overcomes Early Deficit for Win

An 11th-hour comeback adds an extra level of excitement to any game.

Spectators at Bentley College watching the Harvard women's lacrosse team overcome a Boston College lead yesterday, were treated to this feat.

Down 7-3 at halftime, the Crimson (1-1) battled back for a 14-8 win over the Eagles.

"We actually came out pretty strong," sophomore attacker Lauren Corkery said, "but as the half continued, we weren't playing with that same fire."

But by the time the Eagles thought they had a permanent foothold on the lead, the Crimson came storming back.

"We really picked it up in the second half," Corkery said. "It was only our second game, but we scored goal after goal. Our momentum couldn't be stopped.

"They didn't know what hit them. We just had so much fun out there," she said.

Once Harvard's individual components started to click, the team came together as well.

"I think we all just pulled together," freshman attacker Heather Hussey said. "It came from everyone individually."

Citing sophomore midfielder Liz Sarles and freshman defenseman Erin Kutner as leading the way, Hussey said the team played with tremendous heart.

Going into the contest the Crimson didn't know much about the Eagles team.

As it turned out, B.C. had a strong, tall midfielder in sophomore Emily Ryan. But after helping the Eagles take control early on, Ryan was less of a factor in the second half.

"In the second half, we really contained her," Corkery said.

That also went for the entire Eagle team.

"We pretty much shut them down in the second half," Hussey said. "They kind of fell a part and we capitalized on that. We put them in the cage."

The Crimson had a number of players contributing to the cause yesterday.

Corkery and freshman attacker Katharine Burrage each had three goals.

Hussey, Kutner and junior midfielder Kim Weeks scored two goals apiece. Sarles and Hilary Walton each added a goal.

Keltie Donelan did an admirable job in goal for the Crimson.

Harvard will now travel to Providence on Saturday to take on Brown for the Crimson's first Ivy League contest.

"We are looking at each game expecting them to be a good team," Corkery said.

"It's an Ivy League game, and it's great to beat B.C. and go in to this game with the momentum."