Lack of Offense Keeps Women’s Lacrosse Winless in Ivy Play

Even yesterday’s record highs couldn’t warm up the anemic offense of the Harvard women’s lacrosse team, which had 18 turnovers in a 9-4 loss to No. 13 Dartmouth at Jordan Field last night.

An apparent reluctance to attack the net contributed to the Crimson’s inability to score, although Harvard (4-6, 0-4 Ivy) was also frustrated by several shots off the goal frame.

“We’re struggling to find our scorers,” senior midfielder Heather Gotha said.

It didn’t seem so at the outset of the game, however, as the Big Green (9-3, 4-2) couldn’t even gain possession of the ball before Gotha found sophomore midfielder Jen Brooks on the right side of the goal. Brooks calmly slotted it into the net, giving Harvard the early lead.

“We knew coming out of the locker room we could play with them,” Gotha said. “Still, getting the first goal was a real confidence booster.”

But the Crimson couldn’t keep the momentum for long, as Dartmouth midfielder Amy Frazier took a pass from Jen Newitt—the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week—and beat Harvard sophomore goaltender Laura Mancini for the equalizer.

Less than 45 seconds later, Mancini recovered with one of her several impressive saves on the day, stopping a high shot to keep the score tied.

Dartmouth kept threatening, though, and Newitt narrowly missed with a quickstick.

Then, Big Green co-captain Katy Cuneo—the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week—checked the ball loose from senior attacker Melissa Christino and carried it up the field, but Dartmouth couldn’t convert on the transition opportunity.

Eventually, however, the Big Green’s pressure paid off, as attacker Kate Cole stole a sloppy pass and walked in on Mancini, guiding the ball over her right shoulder for the 2-1 lead nearly 10 minutes into the game.

Junior midfielder Katie Shaughnessy beat her defender and evened the score, but Newitt found freshman midfielder Katieanne Christian to recapture the lead for Dartmouth.

With 13 minutes remaining in the half, the light, balmy breeze gave way in an instant to a significantly cooler and angrier wind whipping off the Charles.

As the heat broke and the temperature dropped precipitously, Harvard saw its hold on the game fade away, too.

Big Green midfielder Alison Moulin scored on a free position shot, and Whitney Jamison followed nine seconds later with a goal off of a Moulin feed for a 5-2 lead.

After a Harvard timeout, freshman midfielder Elaine Belitsos scored on a free position shot and Mancini made another of her six saves, stopping a Newitt shot to keep the Crimson within two at halftime at 5-3.

But that was as close as Harvard would get, as it remained winless in Ivy play.

The two teams traded goals within the first minute of the second half, with Frazier breaking in alone and then Christino answering after a scramble in front of the net, but the Crimson wouldn’t score again.

Gotha stripped a Dartmouth player two minutes into the second half and carried the ball the length of the field, but Newitt blocked a Shaughnessy shot to end the threat.

With 22:21 to play, Shaughnessy beat her defender with a lightning-quick spin, but couldn’t convert as she shot wide.

The Big Green extended its lead five minutes later when Frazier found a cutting Moulin. Later, only a huge Mancini save on a point-blank shot from Frazier with less than 11 minutes remaining kept Harvard within three.

Moulin completed her hat trick, though, to double the Crimson up at 8-4 and, with 7:45 to go, added a fourth on Frazier’s second assist of the game.

Reflecting on the game, the Harvard players said it was typical of their season—an inspiring defensive effort marred by an inability to put the ball in the net.

“I think, in terms of hustle and effort, we probably outplayed them,” Gotha said. “We’re a really good team. We’re just looking to put together a game that shows the skill and talent that we have.”

The Crimson will have two opportunities to do that this weekend, as it plays at Columbia Saturday morning and then hosts California Sunday at noon.

To get its season back on track, Harvard will need to jump-start an offense that has scored 14 goals in its last three games and has reached double digits only three times this season. The players are confident they’ll be able to light up the scoreboard before long.

“We definitely have playmakers,” Mancini said. “But the main key for us right now is that we need to set each other up. We have to make other teams stop us, as opposed to stopping ourselves.”

The weather will almost certainly become consistently warmer over the next few weeks. Now, its just a question of whether the Crimson offense can follow suit.