Harvard Loses on Senior Night

Cheers and applause were heard as the Harvard women’s lacrosse team honored its seniors prior to its contest against No. 10 Cornell.

But in the final contest of the season, the Crimson dropped its fourth Ivy League game, losing 17-8 at Jordan Field on Friday night.

A win for either Harvard (5-11, 3-4 Ivy League) or the Big Red (11-2, 6-1 Ivy League) would have meant more than another tally in the win column.

For Cornell, a chance to win a share of its first Ivy League title hung in the balance.

As the last regular season game, the Crimson wished to say good-bye to its departing seniors with one last win.

“The team has a few special traditions for the seniors,” senior Kristin Demorest said. “Everyone made us feel so special and important last night—it was definitely a night I will remember forever.”

For five members of the team, Friday’s game marked the last time they donned the Crimson.

Seniors Demorest, Casey Orr, Allie Kaveney, Bridget Driscoll, and Emma Millon were all celebrated before the game to honor their contribution to the team.

Their jersey numbers were also displayed along the fences of Jordan Field throughout the game.

“We made T-shirts for the seniors before the game,” freshman Kaitlin Martin said.

Once the ceremonies were complete and the game began, Cornell jumped out to an early lead.

Only 26 seconds into the period, sophomore Charlotte Schmidlapp scored off an assist from fellow sophomore Caroline Simmons.

Martin evened up the game at one apiece, but the Big Red assembled one of many rallies to pull away from Harvard.

The Cornell defense stifled the Harvard offense, allowing only 26 shots in the entire game while firing off 34 of its own.

At halftime, the scoreboard stood at 6-2.

Going into the second half, the Big Red continued where it left off, scoring 35 seconds into the second frame to increase the lead to 7-2.

Cornell continued to score in bunches as Harvard struggled to find the net. In the second half alone, the Crimson was outscored by its opponents 11-6.

Down 15-6 in the final minutes of the game, Kaveney and sophomore Natalie Curtis each found the net.

Freshman Jessica Wiegand and senior Rachel Spoonhower answered back in the last minute to end the game.

Big Red Sophomore Noelle Dowd, with four goals, along with Simmons and Wiegand, who both posted hat tricks, led the offense for Cornell.

For Harvard, Simmons and Curtis each provided two goals apiece.

The two goals for Curtis brought her season total to a team-high 37 goals.

The seniors had memorable performances. Orr and Kaveney each notched a goal in their final collegiate game, and Orr forced three turnovers. Driscoll went out with three ground balls, and Demorest saw time in net in the second half.

With the season over, something seems amiss for the seniors.

“It was pretty surreal. I have been playing lacrosse for nine years, and it’s hard to believe it’s all over,” Demorest said. “I would never trade these memories for anything.”