Breaking the Streak

Headed into this past weekend, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team had not defeated Princeton since Michael Keaton was still playing Batman.

But that all changed Saturday afternoon.

Behind a balanced offense and a strong defense, the Crimson (6-6, 2-3 Ivy) ended its 17-year drought against the Tigers (5-8, 3-2), preserving an early lead to come away with the 11-9 victory on Alumni Day at Harvard Stadium.

“I think we played how we know we can play all year,” said sophomore Melanie Baskind, who, along with freshman Jennifer VanderMeulen, had a team-high three goals. “It’s really nice just to put it together and beat a big-time team like that. You can see us building and getting better each game.”

Despite falling behind in the contest’s opening minutes, the Crimson rebounded, going on a 6-2 run to finish the half. Harvard’s lead ballooned to as many as five points early in the second frame thanks to a score from freshman Danielle Tetreault, but a late rally got Princeton within two with less than a minute remaining. Thanks to some defensive stops in the final seconds, the Crimson maintained its lead when the final buzzer sounded.

While six different Crimson players finished with scores, it was Harvard’s defense that proved most impressive, as the unit forced 13 turnovers and held the Tigers to its fifth-lowest offensive output of the season.

“[The defense] played together today,” Crimson coach Lisa Miller said. “The defense took some balls away in midfield transition. We didn’t give [Princeton] what they like to do. We took away their running game, and I thought that was huge, the way the attack re-defended.”

When the Tigers did get shots off, senior goalkeeper Katherine Martino displayed her versatility in net, finishing with seven saves—including several crucial stops early on.

“She played awesome,” Baskind said. “Stepping up in big games, that’s what you want.”

While Harvard had to preserve its lead for most of the contest, it had to come from behind in the early going.

Princeton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a score from Kristin Morrison off a free-position shot less than three minutes into the contest.

Baskind knotted the score at one just 50 seconds later, capitalizing off a free-position shot of her own.

After Tigers goalie Erin Tochihara denied two solid shot attempts, freshman Nina Kucharczyk got a ball past the stingy netminder to break the tie. Kucharczyk, who recently moved to attack, looked comfortable in her new position, breaking away from her defender and shooting low for her third-career score.

But Princeton’s Jenna Davis halted the Crimson run.

Davis cut up the middle, received a pass from Maisie Devine, and finished with the goal to tie the score at two with 18:51 left.

The Tigers looked to have momentum back on their side, winning possession just minutes later. But just as Princeton started to get going, Harvard’s defense stepped up.

Co-captain Delia Pais stepped in front of a Tigers attacker, coming away with the interception. Pais ran the ball up the field, where the Crimson offense set up and got the ball in the stick of VanderMeulen, the team’s leading scorer.

VanderMeulen broke down her defender, blowing past her and firing a shot over Tochihara to give her team the 3-2 lead.

“I think we did the small things right, at least for the majority of the game,” Baskind said. “And when we didn’t, we quickly fixed our mistakes rather than [building] on them, which has been an issue in the past.”

Freshman Micaela Cyr kept the momentum going, cutting up the middle and finishing an unassisted goal.

The Crimson’s lead grew from there, as Baskind and VanderMeulen added a tally apiece to extend their team’s lead to four, 6-2.

Princeton cut away at its deficit before the half ended, as Devine capitalized off a Harvard turnover to net her first of two scores.

After the break, the Crimson jumped out of the gates quickly, going on a 4-2 run to take a 10-5 lead.

But Princeton did not let Harvard escape so easily.

With 10:09 left, Devine fed Caroline Rehfuss in front of the goal for the Tigers’ sixth goal. Minutes later, Morrison added another score, cutting the deficit to three.

After Cyr added an insurance goal for the home team, the Tigers got two scores in 35 seconds to get within two with 44 ticks on the clock.

On the ensuing draw control, Princeton won possession, but Harvard’s defense forced a turnover. Baskind took the possession and ran out the clock to seal the victory—the Crimson’s first over the Tigers since 1992.

In the stands to watch the historic win was Harvard’s 1990 NCAA championship squad. As part of the celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the national title, banners commemorating the Crimson’s Ivy titles and NCAA tournament appearances were hung in Harvard Stadium.

—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.