Women's Lacrosse Squanders Late Lead at BC

Holding onto a three-goal lead with less than four minutes left in the game, Harvard women’s lacrosse failed to prevent a last-minute barrage by Boston College, as the Crimson suffered a come-from-behind loss in Newton, Mass.

Harvard (1-1) saw the Eagles (5-2) finish an overtime comeback victory with a hat-trick, free-position goal by junior attacker Kaileen Hart. The Crimson possessed the lead for the entirety of the game until senior attacker Kate Weeks delivered an unassisted score with just 17 seconds left, sending BC to overtime with great momentum.

“We need to play to win down the stretch,” head coach Lisa Miller said. “I thought we tightened up a bit. Staying composed and in control as the other team tries to alter the pace of play will be important in the future.”

Harvard sprinted out of the gate to a 6-1 lead but gave up two goals in 30 seconds to conclude the last two minutes in the first half.

After allowing another Eagles goal in the opening 1:43 of the second half, the Crimson halted its opponent’s momentum and followed with two scores by junior attacker Eliza Guild and tri-captain midfielder Maeve McMahon to bring Harvard to an 8-4 lead.

However, the back-and-forth continued, with BC answering a three-goal streak by the Crimson with a three-goal response. By then, the score stood at 11-8 after 15 minutes in the second half.

Overall, Harvard finished with 19 shots on goal and 25 total, while the Eagles took 31 shots with 24 on goal.

The oscillating stretches of momentum were manageable for the Crimson given the team’s solid three-to-four point cushion throughout much of the game. But holding onto composure to the end proved to be harder than expected.

“We need to find a way to take some pressure off our midfielders and defenders in the clearing game,” Miller said. “ We need to work on managing the clock and possessing down the stretch.”

Time management proved to be a challenge near the conclusion of the game, as Harvard ended up sitting back and playing too much defense, while allowing Boston College to pile on attack after attack. The Eagles had nearly double the amount of shots in the second half at 18 that they did in the first half. Meanwhile the hosts limited themselves to nine fouls, compared to the Crimson’s foul count of 22 in the second stanza.

This patient yet aggressive performance by Boston College helped to spark a 5-1 run to finish regulation and send the game into overtime. Harvard’s penalties racked up in those final minutes, with three yellow cards issued to the Crimson in the last six and a half minutes.

In overtime, Harvard was unable to garner any offensive firepower and had two turnovers, resulting in a defensive hold for the rest of the game. Junior goalkeeper Meredith Brown blocked two shots on goal by the Eagles during the overtime period, but a ground ball pick-up by Boston College attacker Hart with 2:42 left in overtime resulted in an easy free-position shot on goal.

Brown, who had a career-high 11 saves, could not save a Crimson team that has been 0-2 in overtime performances dating back to 2014.

Despite the end result, Coach Miller noted several excellent performances by her team leaders, including senior midfielder Megan Hennessey, who finished with a goal and two assists, and Guild, who finished with two goals. Sophomore midfielder Keeley McAfee scored a team-high four goals.

“We played hard. A little more composure, and we are in good shape for the league and a potential NCAA tournament berth,” Miller said. “A few mental adjustments turns the game into a win."