W. Lax Loses to Elis, 9-8, at Jordan

The Harvard women's lacrosse team dropped a heart-breaking loss to Yale in a tight game on Sunday at Jordan Field.

The Crimson and the Elis traded goals the entire game, never allowing more than a two-goal lead on either side. The game was decided in the final two seconds when Yale senior Katherine Myers found the net on a pass from sophomore Sarah Queener to give the Elis the 10-9 win.

"We played a really great game," said junior Melissa Christino. "It was a fluke shot at the very end."

The Elis (7-0, 3-0 Ivy) took an early 2-0 lead in the game, but the Crimson (4-3, 0-2 Ivy) retaliated with a three-goal rally, including two goals from senior co-captain Allison Harper. Sophomore Sophie Melniker tallied a goal and an assist for Yale to bring the score to 4-3 in favor of the team from New Haven. Then, with 10 seconds left in the half, Harper netted a goal to tie the game, 4-4.

Yale began the second half with sophomore Clarissa Clarke on the sideline for a check to the head of Harvard co-captain Megan Austin at the buzzer of the first half. Harper struck first in the half with an unassisted goal to give Harvard the first lead at 2:20.

The teams then scored two goals each. Harvard got goals from sophomore Katie Shaughnessy and junior Lizzy Frisbie to bring the score to 7-6 in favor of the Crimson.

Yale sophomore Caroline Petrovick scored at 14:52 to knot the game at seven, but Harvard's Shaughnessy scored a goal from her weak side off of a pass from Christino to give Harvard the 8-7 lead 16:42 into the second half.

The middle of the second half was highlighted by excellent transitional defense from both teams, as well as two great saves from Harvard sophomore goaltender Nora Guyer.

"Our defense all over the field was great," Christino said. "Sometimes we have trouble with transitional defense, but it went well today."

Yet within two minutes of the Crimson's acquisition of the lead, Yale jumped on top with two quick stick goals from Melniker and Petrovick. An unassisted goal from Harper, her fifth goal of the day, tied the game at nine with eight minutes remaining.

As the ball bounced from team to team, it looked like overtime was imminent. But with two seconds left in the game, Queener passed the ball to Myers, who got the win with a backhand quick-stick.

Goaltender Guyer finished the game with seven saves and a great game overall, including some fantastic clears in the second half of the game. Yale sophomore goaltender Amanda Sisley made 13 saves in the victory.

Harvard 14, Stanford 13

The Crimson took the Cardinal into overtime last Thursday to pull out the 14-13 win at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia, Pa.

"We knew that Stanford would be a good team," said freshman Ashley Austin. "We had to come out strong against them."

Stanford's leading scorers performed as well as expected, with 11 of the 13 goals scored by three players, including five goals from senior Katherine Barnes. Sophomore Liz Lanese had four goals and freshman Abbi Hills tallied a pair and notched an assist for the game.

Harper broke the 100-point barrier with a total of three goals and three assists for the game. Senior Lauren Corkery also tallied three goals and an assist. Juniors Heather Hussey and Frisbie also contributed two goals apiece to the effort.

The Crimson played a tight game, led by high scoring and Guyer's goaltending. She completed the game with 14 saves.

"Spring break was a little tiring and Stanford was right at the end," Christino said. "We got the job done."

Harvard 11, Richmond 9

After dropping two games in the week before spring break, the Crimson traveled to Villanova ready to face Richmond last Sunday. The game was close, but the Crimson leading scorers stepped up the challenge and pulled out the win.

"This was a big game for us," Christino said. "We had a couple of tough losses in a row and this was an opportunity to show what we could do."

Harper led the scoring with three goals and an assist, followed by Corkery, Christino, and senior Courtney Leimkuhler, who each tallied a pair.

"It was a very transitional game," Christino said. "There were a lot of goals scored off of fast breaks."

The Crimson bounced back with a strong all-around game. Guyer also performed well, with a total of 12 saves for the game.

"Everyone was playing well," Christino said. "Everyone was in synch."