W. Lax Secures Winning Season

It was a long time in the making, and at times this season didn’t look possible, but the Harvard women’s lacrosse team secured its first wining record since 1994 with an 11-10 overtime win over Brown last night at Jordan Field.

In the process, the Crimson (8-7, 2-5 Ivy) made itself eligible for the ECAC Tournament and edged out the Bears (5-9, 1-6 Ivy) for sixth place in the Ancient Eight.

With 32.4 seconds left in the first half of the extra session, sophomore midfielder Jen Brooks took over, making a great move on her defender and scoring on an off-speed shot to the top right corner of the net.

In scoring, Brooks still appeared strong, although the frenetic pace of the game must have taken its toll on her as it did on the other players.

“At that point, it’s a totally mental game, but it’s what the entire season’s about,” Brooks said.

As the second half of overtime began, Brown’s Christine Anneberg had a chance to score, but couldn’t finish. Only 36 seconds in, though, Rebekah Rottenberg completed a hat trick to knot the score at 10.

But Brooks would not be denied. The sophomore converted a feed from junior midfielder Leslie Moroz with 1:11 to play that, after some difficulties with the game clock, stood up, giving the Crimson the win and keeping its season alive.

“[Brook’s heroics were] just characteristic of our attackers all season,” senior attacker Melissa Christino said. “People step up at different moments and it makes all the difference in the world.”

Both teams enjoyed early scoring chances, with Brooks finding Christino behind the Brown net under a minute into the game. Christino laid the ball off to junior midfielder Katie Shaughnessy, who beat her defender to free herself for a shot. Brown goaltender Niki Caggiano, the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, was up to the challenge, however, stopping the shot off the bounce.

Fewer than two minutes later, the Bears had a golden opportunity of their own, but sophomore goaltender Laura Mancini made the save on a free position shot after a hard foul by sophomore defender Vanessa Lavely.

Mancini couldn’t keep Brown at bay for long, though, as Courtney Johnson scored on a quickstick off a pass from Laurel Pierpont. Less than a minute later, Anneberg carried the ball from behind the net, spun hard and slotted it behind Mancini for a 2-0 lead barely five minutes into the game.

A few minutes later, Mancini made the save on a tough, low shot from Johnson, swinging the momentum Harvard’s way.

In what had the potential to be their last game in a Crimson uniform, Harvard’s seniors took over. Christino scored off of a pass from co-captain defender Heather Hussey. Then, the two executed a textbook give-and-go, with Hussey recording the equalizer.

“I hope she was as psyched as I was,” Christino said.

Finally, Christino notched an unassisted tally to give the Crimson its first lead of the game.

While the seniors were taking care of things on the offensive end, freshman midfielder Elaine Belitsos kept the Bears from scoring, hustling back to deflect an Anneberg pass after Debbie Mendel had come up with the steal for Brown.

Belitsos then jumped into the mix at the other end of the field, finding a slashing Brooks, who converted the pass for a 4-2 lead, forcing Brown to take a timeout.

But the hiatus didn’t break the Crimson’s momentum, as Caggiano was forced to make a save on a low shot from Belitsos.

Two minutes later, Mancini returned the favor, making a solid stop on an Anneberg drive.

But Caggiano blocked a Shaughnessy shot and Pierpont came from behind the net to score with 8:51 to play in the half.

Only 55 seconds later, Sarah Passano found Anneberg for a quickstick, tying the score.

Then, Christino completed her first-half hat trick with 7:35 to spare, taking a pass from Brooks and beating Caggiano over her left shoulder.

“[Chris]tino’s probably the most poised player, attacking-wise, that I can think of and it’s games like this where that really shows,” Brooks said.

After Christino’s tally, senior defender Erin Kutner, who recorded a hat trick of her own in 21 minutes on Saturday , lost the ball but picked it back up and scored to give the Crimson the two-goal lead.

Senior midfielder Heather Gotha tried to extend the advantage before the break, but couldn’t as she missed just wide on a shot and then was stopped by Caggiano on a second attempt, leaving Harvard ahead 6-4 at the half.

Brown appeared to regroup at halftime and came out firing, but Mancini held her ground. She stopped an Emily Blanton shot and then poked a point-blank attempt from Anneberg away from the top left corner of the net.

Twelve minutes into the half, Gotha tried again, but still couldn’t beat Caggiano.

Then, Pierpont sliced through the Crimson defense, only to miss just wide. But thirteen seconds later, she redeemed herself on a free position shot to pull Brown within one.

Rottenberg evened the score, and then the Bears appeared to pull ahead when Anneberg picked out Jocelyn Moore, who put it by Mancini. Moore, though, was in the crease when she scored, negating the goal.

Harvard capitalized on the opportunity to regain the momentum as Christino found Kutner, who beat Caggiano left- handed.

Brooks nearly netted her second goal of the game, but shot off Caggiano’s helmet.

Then, with 14:06 to play, Pierpont, who also stars on Brown’s field hockey team, probably cost herself a lot of birthday money. The sophomore, who has many close relatives who are Harvard alums, completed her hat trick to tie the score, forcing Harvard to call timeout.

When play resumed, Mancini made another of her nine saves, but Caggiano answered on a free position shot from junior Katie O’Brien to the lower left corner of the goal.

A minute later, Rottenberg pulled Brown ahead. Then, Katie Russell scored on a free position shot to give the Bears the 9-7 advantage.

When Kutner received a questionable red card with 6:58 to play, things looked bleak for the Crimson. But the players stayed calm.

“Really, there wasn’t a question,” Christino added. “I knew that we were going to come back.”

When Belitsos couldn’t convert on an opportunity with 5:15 to play, it didn’t look that way.

But Moroz pulled the Crimson within one. Harvard squandered a golden opportunity to tie the score when it missed a free position shot with four minutes to play, but freshman attacker Casey Owens came through in the clutch, scoring on a post-up move off a feed from junior defender Bernadette Devine.

With 35 seconds remaining in regulation, Gotha slid into the fence surrounding the field to win the ball and send the game to overtime.

In the end, the game belonged to the seniors, who had waited the longest to have a winning record and now stand to play at least once more before their Harvard careers come to an end.

“The whole experience of Harvard lacrosse has meant a lot to each senior,” Christino said. “To be able to go out there at least one more time and give it everything that you have just makes it a great day.”