Harvard Falls Behind Early, Loses to Penn

The Harvard women’s lacrosse team fell 15-4 to the No. 20 University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field on Sunday afternoon.

The game marked the Crimson’s (3-7, 1-1 Ivy) second consecutive loss after last week’s fall against No. 15 Boston University.

After bringing in two impressive victories during the team’s spring break competition, notably against long-time rival Yale, the Crimson was not able to hold off the Quakers (8-4, 3-1).

It was the freshmen who stood out in Sunday’s game as Sarah Bancroft and Kelly Alverson contributed the Crimson’s four goals. Bancroft accomplished the first hat trick of her collegiate career.

“It was very fun scoring my first hat trick,” Bancroft said. “I wanted to do my part for our team and to help our team play better.”

Alverson completed Harvard’s tally of four goals with her first collegiate goal in the second half. Senior Bridget Driscoll took the assist on Alverson’s goal, her eighth this season.

“It was a tough game all around, but the highlight was definitely the freshmen stepping up and taking control,” junior Margaret Yellott said. “They play a huge part on this team.”

Leading Penn’s all-star contingent was senior Emily Cochran with three goals and a pair of assists. Sophomore Allison Ambrozy also got three goals past the net with the remaining six goals scored by three other Quakers at two each.

The Crimson was unable to get momentum moving in the first half. The women had difficulty transitioning at the start, leaving the ball in Penn’s hands for most of the early action.

Early in the game, the Quakers took charge with a safe 4-0 lead until Bancroft scored the first of her three goals.

Penn quickly came back as Ambrozy added to the lead with her first goal of the game. Harvard finished the first half down 11-1.

“I think we struggled with midfield transitions,” Alverson said. “Penn did it really well and we had a bit more trouble making it click in the midfield.”

“They defended our transitions well,” Bancroft added. “It was hard for us to get the ball up the field so that we could attack.”

While the Quakers out-shot the Crimson 31 to 3 in the first half, there a momentum shift helped Harvard tie the Quakers 10 to 10 in shots.

“Although we had a tough start, we did a really good job of staying in it and I think the second half was a great improvement on the first,” Bancroft said. “Our coach refocused us on the fundamentals we needed to be working on, so it got us excited to continue playing and turn things around.”

But still, Alverson added, “I just think the most difficult part of the game was knowing that we are capable of competing with Penn on the same level, but for whatever reason it wasn’t working today.”

The Crimson will take to the field again on Wednesday, April 12, when it plays New Hampshire on the road.

—Staff writer Samantha A. Papadakis can be reached at spapadak@fas.harvard.edu.