UNH's Late Run Dooms W. Lacrosse

The waning moments of the second half haven’t been kind to the Harvard women’s lacrosse team lately.

Nothing changed in yesterday’s contest against New Hampshire, as the Wildcats (7-4, 1-0 America East) ran off the final three goals of the game to pull away for a 14-11 victory in Durham, N.H.

Crimson junior attackman Catherine Sproul connected on a free-position shot with 10:43 left in the contest and freshman midfielder Margaret Yellott added a tally just under three minutes later to bring Harvard (5-6, 0-2 Ivy) even with New Hampshire at 11.

In her first year, Yellott has already become a centerpiece of the Crimson offense.

“[Yellott] has really been a little sparkplug for us, she has a lot of enthusiasm,” said Owens. “She’s really stepping up to the plate and playing well under pressure, which is tough as a freshman.”

The Wildcats quickly stifled the Crimson rally, however, taking the lead back just 38 seconds later on a goal by attackman Jill Albee.

New Hampshire capped off its decisive three-goal run just 2:13 later as midfielder Jess Burnap—the game-high scorer with five goals and an assist—fed Albee who beat Harvard freshman goaltender Kathryn Tylander. The goal gave Albee a hat trick and chased Tylander from the game, as sophomore Kristin Demorest came on in relief for the Crimson.

It was a rare weak performance from the usually solid Tylander.

“It’s been tough [to lose games late] because we have such resources and such skill,” said junior midfielder Elaine Belitsos, who turned in a hat trick yesterday. “And we’ve been playing right with these teams in all these games.”

Harvard trailed at halftime 8-5—just the second time in its last seven games that it has trailed at half—but came out on fire to start the second.

Sproul led the charge out of the break as she finished an unassisted goal just over three minutes in. Freshman midfielder Caroline Hines fed Belitsos twice in a 2:20 span and junior midfielder Casey Owens added a tally as the Crimson grabbed a 9-8 lead.

But the Wildcats answered with a run of their own. Three goals in a 1:40 span, including two by Burnap, pushed New Hampshire to a 11-9 lead with just over 16 minutes left in the game.

The first half saw the Wildcats jump out to an early lead with two goals in the first 94 seconds of the contest.

The Crimson came back with two goals in as many minutes, including a Belitsos goal off an Owens feed and an unassisted goal from Owens.

The game was scoreless for the next eight minutes, until New Hampshire midfielder Sarah Cahill found the net to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.

Sproul evened it up again with a goal off an assist from junior midfielder Bessie Clark just over two minutes later.

“[Sproul] is very poised, very deceptive, able to help us out by getting in the corners, getting some good feeds,” Belitsos said. “She’s had some strong finishing shots in the past few games and in the midfield she’s been a great outlet for us.”

New Hampshire used the remaining 16 minutes of the first half to put some distance between itself and Harvard, going on a 5-2 run heading into the break.

The two Crimson tallies came from a Yellott free-position shot and an unassisted effort from Hines. Yesterday’s game was a breakout performance for the freshman, with a goal and two assists.

“[Hines has a great] ability to see the field and see cutters,” Belitsos said. “She’s had some amazing feeds, but also today she had a great shot and hopefully we’ll be able to use that ability in the future.”

Team members were frustrated by the team’s recent late game collapses, but hopeful about resolving the problems.

“I think that we’re still learning how to make sure we finish off a game,” Owens said. “Obviously that’s something we wish we could have mastered by now, but it’s a process...We’re going to find a way to make the wins happen. Our team is not one to give up.”

—Staff writer Nathaniel A. Smith can be reached at nsmith@fas.harvard.edu.