Harvard Winning Streak Halted at Four

Fresh off a four-game win streak in which it scored 16 goals, Harvard came into Saturday’s Ivy League showdown with the chance to improve its title bid. The Big Red began the day tied for first place in the league, and the Crimson (6-6, 2-2 Ivy) trailed by only a game. In a defensive struggle, Cornell ultimately prevailed, scoring midway through the second half for the only goal in a 1-0 win.

“It’s tough losing an Ivy game. It’s just kind of disheartening,” co-captain Kayla Romanelli said.

About 16 minutes into the second half, Cornell (9-4, 4-0 Ivy) was fouled just outside of the circle. Big Red back Belen Martinez took the ensuing free hit and sent a hard pass towards the goal. Cornell forward Katie Kirnan stepped in front of the net and deflected the ball past senior goaltender Kylie Stone for the deciding goal.

Harvard increased its offensive pressure for the rest of the half, maintaining possession on the Big Red’s side of the field, but it could not manage any shots. For the entire second half, Cornell kept the Crimson without a shot or a penalty corner.

Harvard’s best scoring opportunities came in the first half. On a penalty corner 10 minutes into the game, freshman back Georgia McGillivray ripped a shot that was blocked by Big Red goaltender Melanie Jue. Freshman midfielder Carly Dickson swooped in for the rebound but sent it just wide of the near post.

Roughly 10 minutes later, the Crimson had another opportunity. Sophomore midfielder Chloe Keating drove into the circle from the right hand side of the goal and passed the ball to Romanelli. The senior took a shot from close range that was blocked by Jue, but the ball trickled away from her. Freshman forward Allie Kimmel got two shots off of rebounds, but Jue stopped both before the threat was cleared.

Cornell also threatened in the first half. Nine minutes into the game, Big Red forward Abbi Horn sent a cross in front of the net intended for teammate Kelly Kantarian, but Stone dove out to challenge the shot, blocking it and thwarting the threat.

Almost 27 minutes into the period, Cornell had an opportunity on another corner. This time, Martinez ripped a shot from the top of the circle that Stone kicked right back to her. Martinez fired another shot that forced Stone to make a difficult glove save.

The Big Red appeared to score a few minutes before halftime when Kantarian buried a cross behind Stone. However, the referees conferred and determined that the pass struck a player’s foot before the shot.

At halftime, Cornell had a slight edge in shots, 6-5, and corners, 3-1.

The Big Red owned the second half. Seven minutes into the action, Horn was wide open and received the ball in the middle of the circle. Stone rushed out to challenge the shot and blocked the initial attempt. Off of the rebound Horn sent a pass to Kantarian beside the goal, but Stone recovered in time to kick the attempt away.

Several minutes later, Kirnan scored off of a deflection for her fourth goal of the year.

“[Kylie’s] been playing phenomenal. She definitely saved our butts a couple of times,” Romanelli said. “We can’t let the game fall on her.”

Saturday’s loss snapped a four-game winning steak during which Harvard had scored 16 goals.

“It was an incredibly disappointing performance,” Harvard coach Sue Caples said. “It’s the little things that are going to make a difference. We can’t shut down, stand around, and wait and watch for someone else to step up. Accountability is probably the number one thing to learn from this.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.