Win Streak Hits Four Before Loss

This past week the Harvard women’s lacrosse team (7-2, 1-1 Ivy) notched two wins, stretching its winning streak to four games, before falling on Saturday.

On March 22, the Crimson defeated Brown (2-5, 0-1), 14-13, in its first game of Ivy League play. The following Tuesday, Harvard captured another win, 13-10, against Vermont (5-3), before seeing its streak end with a 14-6 loss to Yale (7-3, 2-1).

YALE 14, HARVARD 6

The No. 14 Bulldogs were too much for the Crimson in the final game of spring break, opening the match on a six-goal run, including three scores from Linden Ellis. Sophomore Sara Flood finally broke the streak with an unassisted tally with 6:25 remaining in the first half.

Harvard headed into the break down 6-1, and Yale scored three goals in the first 3:27 of the second half to open up a 9-1 lead—a deficit that would never get smaller than seven goals for the remainder of the game.

Six different players posted goals for the Crimson, as Harvard recorded its second-lowest scoring total of the season. Flood added the Crimson’s lone assist, giving her the team’s lead in points for the afternoon.

HARVARD 13, VERMONT 10

The Crimson faced off against the Catamounts at their home field in Burlington.

The two teams had not seen each other in competition for 12 years, and before the hiatus Harvard never lost to the Catamounts in 15 games.

“We didn’t want to be the first team in the history of Harvard-UVM to lose,” co-captain Natalie Curtis said. “So we weren’t underestimating them even though they weren’t one of the top teams to play.”

Despite winning the game by a safe three goals, Harvard came into the match with higher expectations.

“We struggled a little bit,” senior Caroline Simmons said. “We got off to a slow start and I think that the game was closer than it should have been.”

Simmons started the scoring early in the first period, giving the Crimson a 1-0 lead. Freshman Jess Halpern continued the effort with the next two Harvard goals, but Vermont was able to match each one, locking the score at 3-3.

The pace of the game did not change until the second half of the first period, when the Crimson knocked in five goals and the Catamounts tallied only one.

Vermont finally responded in the beginning of the second half with three goals in a row. But the comeback was short-lived as Harvard fired in five more before the end of the game.

Although the Crimson came out on top, the team committed 24 fouls in the game, over twice as many as Vermont’s 10. Harvard also had 21 total turnovers, one of the highest counts of the season.

“We just weren’t playing smart,” Curtis said. “We weren’t taking care of the ball. We ended up making things a lot harder for ourselves then they needed to be.”

HARVARD 14, BROWN 13

A few days earlier, the Crimson defeated Brown, 14-13, marking a solid start to Ivy League competition.

“Our history with Brown is one that we have won the majority of games against them,” Curtis said. “We have won every time since my freshman year. That being said, you really can’t underestimate any Ivy teams.”

Halpern had a stellar performance against the Bears, posting four goals—including the game winner—and one assist. Curtis and junior Kaitlin Martin notched three goals each.

“It was really exciting to get out and play our first Ivy team,” Simmons said. “It has always been a close game with Brown, and this year in particular, up until the last minute, it was close.”

Brown opened the scoring only a few minutes into the game and then quickly took a 3-1 lead. However, Harvard was able to come back, and by the end of the period the Crimson possessed a 9-8 lead.

Brown never allowed the Crimson to relax, scoring three goals early in the second half to pull ahead, 11-10.

With only 14 minutes left in the game, Martin tied the score at 12. Co-captain Lauren Bobzin then gave the Crimson the lead as she scored her first goal of the game.

“It was a battle all over the field up until the end,” Simmons said. “And we pulled away with the win due to some key shots by Jess Halpern.”

With seven minutes remaining, Halpern fired in the final Crimson goal. Yet Brown never stopped fighting and was able to find the net once more. The Bears fell short of the tie, however, and Halpern’s was the game-winner.

“I think we definitely still have a lot to work on,” Simmons said. “We can’t get complacent because our schedule is only getting harder.”