Crimson Tames Lions on Road Trip

It took a trip to the big city for the Harvard women’s lacrosse team to get a big win.

Riding on junior Kaitlin Martin’s five-point effort, the Crimson (8-6, 2-4 Ivy) defeated Columbia (3-10, 0-7 Ivy), 12-8, Saturday at Robert Kraft Field. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Harvard.

“It was a good one because we just needed a win,” senior captain Lauren Bobzin said. “It was a good effort.”

Martin tallied three goals, including the eventual game-winner, and two assists to lead the Crimson’s scoring charge.

The game began grimly for Harvard, as the team found itself down, 2-0, after just three minutes of play. But a goal from freshman Jess Halpern at 7:50 of the first half started a four-goal run for the Crimson, and the Lions would never lead the game again.

Although Columbia came back to tie things up at 4-4, Martin found the back of the net at 22:20 to put Harvard ahead for good.

In the following five minutes, junior Sarah Bancroft and Bobzin scored as the Crimson was able to get the game under control, taking a 7-4 lead.

The Lions’ Holly Glynn scored the first of her three goals with a minute to play in the first half, but Harvard senior Tara Schoen notched a last-second score to put the Crimson up, 8-5, heading into the locker room.

Within the first minute of the second half, Martin put her second goal of the day in the net, and Harvard and Columbia would trade goals throughout the half.

Martin’s final goal, with just over two minutes remaining in the game, gave the Crimson its biggest lead of the afternoon at 12-8.

“Kaitlin did really well, she’s been stepping it up so much on attack,” senior Caroline Simmons said. “Right from the start she really set the tone for the game.”

Halpern, Bancroft, and Simmons all found the back of the net twice, while senior Natalie Curtis added a goal of her own.

Halpern and sophomore Sara Flood also recorded assists for Harvard.

“We have so many threats,” Bobzin said. “That’s what makes us so tough. It’s the movement of everyone around that gets Kaitlin open. Our attack works best when we’re working the system.”

On the defensive end, sophomore Katherine Martino and senior Kathryn Tylander split time in goal. Martino’s three-save performance in the first half was good enough for the win, while Tylander blocked four shots and allowed just three goals in her 30 minutes of play.

Lions goaltender Emma Mintz made 15 saves in a losing effort.

Bancroft and Bobzin made important contributions on defense as well as producing points.

Bancroft led the team with four draw controls, and Bobzin, along with junior Ali McDonough, collected two ground balls.

“A huge part of the win is that the defense played really well,” Simmons said. “The goalies stepped it up for some huge saves.”

But most importantly, the Crimson was able to break out of its pattern of losses—the mark of a maturing team.

“I’m a senior now, and we’ve had a lot of losing streaks. To be able to snap out of that mentality and hopefully get a very quality win this weekend, it’s huge,” Bobzin said.

“This is a program that’s in the middle of a turnaround and sometimes breaking bad cycles is harder than anything. Hopefully now we can build on this and get on a roll,” she added.

Harvard will try to ride its winning tide through the season’s final contests. The Crimson will face off against No. 18 Cornell in its Ivy League finale on Saturday at Harvard Stadium.

“Going into Cornell, I think this gives us more confidence,” Simmons said.

“It’s an Ivy game, it’s a big Ivy opponent,” Bobzin added. “Beating them would really put us in the mix for the next few years.”

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.