Penn Wins Fifth Consecutive Game

New venue, same result.

Playing in a newly resurfaced Harvard Stadium for the first time in 24 years, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team (2-7, 0-2 Ivy) lost to No. 11 Penn (10-1, 4-0 Ivy) for the fifth time in five years, falling by a score of 15-3.

On a blustery Saturday afternoon that felt more like early February than the first week of April, the Crimson’s offense was as cold as the weather for much of the first half.

After a scoreless opening 11 minutes, during which multiple Quaker scoring chances were thwarted by a stout Harvard defense, the floodgates opened and Penn peppered the Crimson crease, netting four goals in five minutes on its way to building a 10-0 first-half lead.

The Harvard offense did not even attempt a shot until junior Tara Schoen shot wide with 12 minutes remaining.

Overall, the Crimson was outshot, 21-4, in the first half despite a nearly even time of possession.

“Penn is really fast and pressured us a lot,” coach Sarah Nelson said. “We were prepared for them but they were excellent.”

Harvard pulled itself together after the break and finally began to execute on offense.

Freshman Sara Flood opened the second-half scoring with a tricky shot that snuck past the goalkeeper 2:50 into the period.

Four minutes later, sophomore and team scoring leader Kaitlin Martin netted a free-position shot to make the score 10-2.

After the Quakers answered back with two goals of their own, Flood put in her second of the day off a quick pass from Martin to make the score 12-3.

“We adjusted at the half, and began to execute our game,” Nelson said. “But it was not soon enough.”

Penn quickly squashed any ideas of a comeback when Kaitlin Farmer scooped up a groundball near the Crimson crease and went coast-to-coast, running the length of the field virtually untouched to net her only score of the game. The goal seemed to take the wind out of Harvard’s sails, and the Quakers put in two more in the remaining minutes to round out the scoring.

Time of possession was essentially equal, yet the Crimson was unable to take advantage. Harvard was outshot, 35-16, and converted only 1-of-6 free-position shots, compared to Penn’s 4-of-5 clip. The Crimson narrowly lost the groundball battle, 18-17, but junior Lauren Bobzin had eight on her own, to raise her season total to 30, good for second place in the Ivy League.

Joining the team for the first time was women’s basketball star sophomore Niki Finelli, who averaged nearly 12 points per game in the winter to lead Harvard team to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Cheered on by a contingent of her hoops teammates, Finelli played about seven minutes in the second half. She was a non-factor in her first outing, however, turning the ball over once.

The match was the first non-football game to be played at Harvard Stadium since 1990, when the men’s lacrosse team defeated Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament. It was the first women’s lacrosse game played there since 1983, when Harvard defeated Northwestern in the first round of NCAA’s. The historic stadium also hosted the Olympic Trials in 1916 and 1920, and the New England Patriots in 1960. Despite an announced attendance of barely 200 in a stadium with a capacity of 30,000, Nelson said the team was thrilled to have the opportunity to play there, rather than its usual home at nearby Jordan Field.

“It is a tremendous opportunity, unbelievable,” Nelson said. “The team was very excited. It is great for the team, and for women’s sports.”

The Crimson travels across town to Boston University this evening to play a make-up of their game that was called last Wednesday due to snow.