W. Lacrosse Drops Ivy Opener to Brown

The Harvard women's lacrosse team scored in the first and last minutes of its game last night at Brown, but in between, it was all Bears, as the Crimson dropped its Ivy League opener to fall to .500 overall.

Both teams entered the game coming off losses, with Brown (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) having been crushed 20-4 by No. 1 Maryland and Harvard (2-2, 0-1) having suffered a disappointing 8-3 loss to Notre Dame on Sunday.

In addition to trying to get back on the winning track, Brown was also seeking to avenge its 11-10 loss last year at Ohiri Field.

After falling to the Fighting Irish, the Crimson knew it had significant room for improvement, but two intense practices on Monday and Tuesday reinstilled an optimistic mood into the Harvard locker room.

The Crimson's newfound enthusiasm was evident during warmups, as the entire team seemed prepared to play on grass for the first time this season. This excitement carried over into the game, as sophomore midfielder Katie Shaughnessy took a pass from junior Erin Kutner thrity-eight seconds into the contest and staked Harvard to an early 1-0 advantage.

"Often times, the tempo of the game is set by the first draw," freshman Jen Brooks said.

However, that was not the case in this match. Within two minutes, Brown equalized on a goal by sophomore Robin Juliano and, five minutes later, freshman Laurel Pierpont took the lead for the Bears with a free position shot.

Freshman Ashley Harmeling drew the Crimson back even as she took a pass from Kunter and beat a pair of Brown defenders to score with just under ten minutes elapsed in the game.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, Harmeling's goal was the team's last of the half, as Brown scored five unanswered goals in a stretch that spanned halftime. The run was sparked when Juliano scored her second goal on a free position shot, but then sophomore Rebekah Rottenberg took over with two of her three goals and her first of two assists on the night.

Harvard co-captain and Ivy League scoring leader Alli Harper got the Crimson back into the scoring column when she netted Harvard's third goal with fifteen minutes left in the game. She managed the tally even after being bumped by her defender and knocked off balance.

The Crimson's momentum was short-lived, though, as a tally by Maggie Connolly restored Brown's five-goal advantage just ninety seconds later.

After another minute and a half, senior attacker Lauren Corkery beat her defender and scored, bringing Harvard within four at 8-4, but that margin was as close as the Crimson would come.

Rottenberg completed her hat trick on a free position shot with fewer than four minutes to go and, after a Meredith Goodell goal further extended the Bears' advantage, Rottenberg assisted on a score by sophomore Whitney Talbot with just seven seconds remaining.

Harvard refused to quit, though, and junior Lizzy Frisbie won the ensuing draw and passed to Harmeling, who scored her second goal of the game as time expired.

The goal was so smooth "it almost seemed like we should have been doing that from the beginning," Corkery said.

It was too little, too late, though, as Harvard could only ponder its 11-5 loss and focus on improving in the future.

"It's kind of frustrating because there are things you don't really know why they're not working," Brooks said. "We just couldn't really put it together."

Offense was a noticeable problem for the Crimson, beginning with the transition game, where Harvard often rushed its play, leading to several turnovers.

Once it did reach its offensive end, the Crimson frequently seemed confused and frantic in failing to play intelligently.

"We've been playing to what the defense has been doing instead of settling into what we need to do," Harmeling said.

Small mistakes--such as making cuts at the same time and failing to make eye contact and set picks--also plagued Harvard. The Crimson's time of possession was low, too, as players tried to beat their defenders individually instead of moving the ball around and stringing passes together.

Finally, Harvard's shot selection left much to be desired.

"We made their goalie look a lot better than she really is," Shaughnessy said.

Friday morning, the team leaves for a spring break trip to Philadelphia, where it will have double sessions and play the University of Richmond and Stanford.

On the trip, the Crimson needs to work on team cohesiveness, but the players are confident things will fall into place.

"We need that time just to sit and focus on lacrosse. We have so much talent on our team and so many people that can do so many things," Corkery said.

Now, it's just a matter of putting that talent together at gametime.