Harvard Drops Fifth Straight to Big Green

The Harvard women’s lacrosse team fell to Dartmouth, 11-7, yesterday at Harvard Stadium.

The game marked the fifth straight loss for the Crimson (7-6) and returned the Big Green (6-6) to .500. Harvard’s string of defeats began on March 29th with a loss to Yale, 13-10. Since then, the Crimson has been unable to reclaim the success that it had earlier in the season when its record boasted seven wins and only one loss.

“We have had a tough streak in our schedule but they have all been great teams,” sophomore Delia Pais said. “We have put up some great numbers against them. It hasn’t been all negative.”

Yesterday, Harvard looked to reverse the effects of the last few weeks, but fell short of clinching the win.

Within the first five minutes of the game, the Crimson set the pace and achieved multiple scoring opportunities, including shots on goal from junior Kaitlin Martin and senior Natalie Curtis.

The contest progressed into a back and forth battle, but Dartmouth ended the stalemate 13 minutes into the game, taking the lead, 1-0. But just two minutes later, freshman Jess Halpern knocked one in using a ricochet off the ground, after receiving a pass from Martin.

“I think it was a good game,” Pais said. “We just made a couple critical mistakes at inopportune moments.”

With 13 minutes remaining in the half, the Big Green answered with its second goal, obtaining a 2-1 lead. Harvard trailed for a while, but Halpern eventually scored a second to tie the game with 6:46 remaining in the half. Martin tallied another assist on the play and gained her third only a minute later when junior Sarah Bancroft fired one in, giving the Crimson a 3-2 lead. Martin would finish the game with four points, all assists.

With four minutes remaining in the half, senior Tara Schoen notched a goal, and it seemed as if Harvard was going to end the half with a strong 4-2 lead. But Dartmouth rallied back and scored two goals late in the period, tying the game before the half’s end.

Although the Crimson had a strong effort in the first half, the tempo of the second was quite different.

“I think we need to work on our fundamentals,” Pais said. “We just need to be able to perform when we are a little bit tired.”

Dartmouth quickly scored two goals to start off the second half, each of which followed a contentious call—one on ball control and one on a false start.

“We had a bit of a defensive lapse and ran into a little trouble on offense at the beginning of the half,” Pais said. “We definitely had our opportunities.”

Shortly after Dartmouth’s first two goals of the period, a Harvard defender gave up a crucial turnover which led to the Big Green’s third unanswered point in a row.

The Crimson was not able to recover from the beginning of the half, as the team trailed for the rest of the game, finally falling 11-7.

Halpern ended the game with two goals and an assist, while Bancroft and Simmons each notched two goals. Curtis led the team in shots, with 6, but was unable to convert any into points, facing a tough Dartmouth goalie who blocked 10 and only let in seven.

Although the outcome of the game was not ideal for Harvard, the team still has high hopes for the remainder of the year.

“I think that the end of the season and the future of Harvard lacrosse are really picking up,” Pais said. “We are learning every day and getting better every day.”