Lions Continue W. Lacrosse’s Slide

In a matchup between two teams still in search of their first Ivy League win, something had to give.

Luck was not on the side of the Harvard women’s lacrosse team, as Columbia (6-8, 1-6 Ivy) earned its first-ever Ivy win with an 11-9 victory over the Crimson (2-11, 0-5 Ivy) Saturday under heavy rains at Jordan Field.

Harvard, having lost 10 straight coming into the contest, had hoped to take advantage of its last game of the year at home to end the slide, as both of its wins on the season have come at Jordan Field.

The weather, however, drowned out any hopes of a home-field advantage for the Crimson, fluctuating between mild drizzle and severe downpour. Conditions were at their worst as the afternoon began, significantly slowing down the action to start the game.

“It definitely makes balls on the ground bounce a little differently, and it can also make running around a little bit harder,” freshman attack Tara Schoen said.

Despite the inclement conditions, Schoen scored three goals, two in the first half. But Schoen’s contributions could not offset a late first-half defensive breakdown that gave Columbia a lead it would not relinquish.

Harvard’s game got off to a bright start. Playing aggressively and keeping the ball on the Lions’ end of the field through the match’s opening minutes, the Crimson gained an early edge when senior attack Molly Bodell scored the game’s opening goal six minutes into the action.

Harvard rattled off three straight goals, two from Schoen and one from sophomore attack Liz Gamble, to jump out to a 4-2 advantage.

Then the clouds descended. Columbia responded with a run of its own, scoring four consecutive goals to run the score to 6-4.

While Harvard’s offense would prove to have problems finding the back of the net, its defense never found an answer to Lions attack Carrie Anderer. Racking up a game-high six goals, Anderer provided over half of the Columbia offense and helped the Lions pull away with a win. Anderer scored a hat trick in less than five minutes late in the first, and the last Lions goal came with just 4.1 seconds left in the half, giving Columbia the momentum going into halftime.

Down by two at intermission, Harvard stayed even with the Lions to begin the second half, trading goals for 10 tense minutes until finally pulling within one, cutting the Columbia lead to 9-8.

The next Lions goal proved to be the backbreaker. The rains came roaring back the second the ball entered the net, Columbia goalkeeper Marcela Calidonio came up with some key saves on the following possessions (she totalled 14 on the afternoon), and the Crimson’s shots lost precision, hitting the posts and crossbar and whizzing over the net as the Lions built up their lead to 11-8.

“I think that we were at that point getting a little frantic,” Gamble said. “We really wanted to come back, and we really wanted to get it in, and once you get into that mode—you just want to get the ball in the net, and sometimes it just doesn’t happen.”

Gamble scored two unassisted goals in the second half and three in the game.

While Harvard’s end-game shooting may have become hurried or frantic, luck—or a lack thereof—may have played an important role in the Crimson’s defeat. Harvard’s total of 41 shots was more than double the 20 managed by Columbia, and though the Crimson out-shot the Lions 24-10 in the second half, the home team failed to make its shots count.

“I think luck definitely played a big part,” Schoen said. “It got frustrating when we were taking so many shots and none of them were making it in.”

The Crimson did manage one last goal in the game’s final minute to pull within two at 11-9.

The lone score, on a shot from free position by Caroline Simmons, was all the team had to show for 20 minutes of nearly nonstop shooting.

“Everybody was just unlucky with their shots today,” Gamble said. “We were getting open, we were getting the shots off, and we just weren’t executing. It just wasn’t there for us.”

The Crimson will seek to end its skid on Wednesday, when it travels to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College.