Late Baskind Goal Gives Harvard 2-1 Victory

An individual effort by co-captain Melanie Baskind with only 1:20 left to play was the difference maker in Harvard’s 2-1 win over UMass (2-2-1) Friday night at Soldiers Field Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium.

The forward received the ball in the box, where she proceeded to dribble around and past the Minutewomen defense before sending a shot to the right of the goalie and sealing the win for the Crimson (2-1).

“We knew coming into [the game] it was going to be a battle to the end,” sophomore defender Peyton Johnson said. “I don’t think we were expecting to win in the last two minutes, but [Baskind] came through with an awesome shot, and the defense held it together in the end.”

The Crimson had a one-goal advantage in the first half that was erased late in the second when Minutewoman Erin McGaffigan put away the tying penalty kick with 4:58 left on the clock.

Despite controlling the ball throughout the game, Harvard could not convert its rate of possession into goals. The Crimson still out-shot the visitors, 20-8, landing 10 attempts on target.

“We just have to continue to work and finding the seams that we’re not finding just yet,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “We’re getting around the corner, but everyone is making the same run, so we have to work on that in practice.”

It had seemed early on that the Crimson might cruise to a victory, as it dominated possession from the get-go and earned a one-goal lead early in the first half.

With only 11:15 played in the period, rookie midfielder Kate Makaroff put away the ball after sophomore forward Elizabeth Weisman’s shot ricocheted off a defender’s leg. The deflection landed at the feet of Makaroff, who kept her wits about her and knocked the ball into the open net.

The offensive onslaught continued throughout the half, with Harvard getting off 12 shots compared to the Minutewomen’s three.

Freshman Meg Casscells-Hamby and Baskind were key in driving the offense up the field, with the rookie finishing the contest with a game-high six shots, three of which were on goal. Baskind and junior Alexandra Conigliaro were tied for second on the team with four shots each.

UMass started showing more life in the second half, efficiently putting together more passes and getting off five shots compared to Harvard’s eight.

McGaffigan had a good chance in the 33rd minute when teammate Moa Mattsson sent in a high cross that McGaffigan could not successfully redirect with her head. The senior finished the game with a team-high three shots.

Her most crucial shot came in the 85th minute when McGaffigan calmly took the tying penalty kick after sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Wright—who came into the game to replace a bleeding AJ Millet—tripped up an attacking UMass player in an attempt to clear the ball from the box.

“It was definitely a penalty,” Leone said. “It’s just unfortunate. It’s tough for a goalkeeper to go in cold like that—that’s really hard to do. Jess did the best she could.”

The play culminated a late Minutewomen offensive that lasted five minutes prior to the goal.

It was the second game in a row that the Crimson gave up a goal in the final 10 minutes. But it was also the second consecutive match where Harvard demonstrated its resilience to come up with a late goal.

It was also the second time that Baskind was involved in capturing the win, though this time around, she did it all herself.

The senior deftly dribbled her way past three Minutewomen defenders to face goalie Emily Cota one on one. Cota fell the wrong way as Baskind shot the ball to the right, resulting in a euphoric celebration on the sidelines.

“We came out really strong and kind of in the middle we lost our touch a little bit and our composure,” Weisman said. “The end of the half we all got fired up, and Mel put away that awesome goal; it was just unbelievable.”

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.