Women's Lax Falls to Penn

For one minute and 51 seconds, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team looked like it could do something it had not done in more than six years—defeat Penn.

But less than two minutes after the Crimson grabbed an early 1-0 lead off a score from freshman Jennifer VanderMeulen, the Quakers proved why they hold the No. 4 ranking in the country.

Penn (4-1, 1-0 Ivy) answered with five straight scores and held Harvard (2-2, 0-1 Ivy) scoreless over the next 15 minutes of play en route to a 16-6 victory Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field.

“We just need to know how to get a lead and push it,” junior Sam McMahon said. “We weren’t going full speed which allowed for unforced errors. It was just sloppy really.”

The Crimson struggled throughout the match to contain the Quakers attackers, who outshot Harvard 27-17. Penn did most of its damage in the second half, extending a 7-3 halftime lead into a 10-goal victory behind four straight scores to open the period.

“They’re very patient,” sophomore Melanie Baskind said. “They know how to look for really good scoring opportunities and take advantage of them.”

Sophomore attacker Erin Brennan led the way for the Quakers, notching a career-high seven points on four goals and three assists.

Brennan, last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, helped her team take the lead with her first assist of the game. Early in the first period, Brennan found teammate Megan Smith open for the score that put Penn in control, 2-1.

Three more Penn scores would put the three-time defending Ivy League champions ahead 5-1 with 10:07 left in the first.

The Crimson threatened a comeback as VanderMeulen and junior Tyler Petropulos netted back-to-back unassisted goals to bring the score back within two.

But the Quakers would not let it get any closer than that.

Just 48 seconds after the goal by Petropulos, Penn’s Maddie Poplawski used a free position shot to notch her second goal of the game. Brennan took it from there, accounting for three of her team’s next four scores to give the Quakers a commanding 10-3 lead.

Brennan’s first goal of the contest came with just over three minutes left in the first half, as she took it unassisted past Harvard goalie Katherine Martino. Brennan drew first blood to start the second period, scoring off a pass from teammate Ali DeLuca.

Petropulos and VanderMeulen added their second and third goals of the game, respectively, and freshman Danielle Tetreault found the back of the net, but it was not enough offense for the Crimson to recover.

Once again, Harvard was led by its freshman class, which has transitioned smoothly to the collegiate level, accounting for 64 percent of the team’s scoring this season. The rookies will have to play an even larger role on offense given the injury sustained by last season’s Ivy League leader in goals per game, Jess Halpern, who went down with a knee injury in the Crimson’s second contest of the season against Johns Hopkins.

“There’s definitely added pressure to players who might not have felt as much of it early on,” Baskind said. “We know we’re young. It’s just a matter of everyone taking more personal accountability.”

VanderMeulen looks to be the best bet to fill Halpern’s shoes on offense, as she leads the team so far this season with 13 goals, more than double the number held by the team’s second leading scorer.

“She doesn’t back away from pressure,” Baskind said. “She’s dangerous.”

But scoring is not Harvard’s only focus, as the team hopes to clamp down defensively after surrendering double-digit goals to two of its four opponents this season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kerry Clark saw her first action in front of the net this season on Saturday, stopping two shots and allowing six scores in over 20 minutes of action.

The Crimson will happily return to Cambridge for its home opener this Wednesday against Boston University after a brutal four-game road swing that featured contests against two top-20 opponents.

“It’s exciting,” Baskind said. “It will be nice to stay in Cambridge.”