W. Lacrosse Loses 11-10

The luck of the Irish did not follow the Harvard women's lacrosse team home from Notre Dame.

After trailing 10-8 against the Fighting Irish on Monday, the Crimson rallied with four unanswered goals for a 12-10 victory.

Hosting New Hampshire yesterday, Harvard once again came back from a 10-8 deficit to tie.

Harvard could not find the go ahead goal, however, as the Crimson (6-6, 3-3 Ivy) fell 11-10 to the Wildcats (7-8).

Junior co-captain Alli Harper scored four goals, while junior Lauren Corkery and sophomore Lizzy Frisbie each added a pair in a losing cause.

With the game tied 10-10, New Hampshire senior Stephanie Keefe scored the game winner with 7:23 remaining in the game, and the Crimson could not find the equalizer in the dying minutes.

"We tried to keep possession late in the game," sophomore Hilary Walton said. "But we gave up a crucial turnover late in the game that was really a team mistake. It just was a frustrating end to the game."

Scoring five goals for the Wildcats, Keefe was the difference in the game yesterday, opening the scoring 1:08 into the first half and then giving New Hampshire big goals to go ahead 9-8 and 11-10.

After the Wilcats went ahead 10-8 with 14:38 remaining in regulation, Harper responded quickly with a tally 22 seconds later to pull the Crimson back to within one.

Two minutes later, Harper found the back of the net once again to pull Harvard even with the Wildcats.

Unlike the rally Harper started against Notre Dame two days before, in which she scored four goals as well, this Crimson comeback would fall short.

"Our improvements in the second half are definitely encouraging," Walton said. "We've made progress but we're still in the habit of losing it at the beginning of the second half."

Harvard held a slim 6-4 lead after the first half, but New Hampshire came out of halftime with three goals in three minutes to take a 7-6 lead and put the Wildcats ahead for the first time since early in game when they led 1-0.

"We have talked about the second half as a team," Walton said. "And most people agree its mental and physical exhaustion that's hurting us. The draws after halftime are critical, and we've lost a couple that have allowed the other team to score a couple quick goals on us."

Just 30 seconds later, however, Frisbie and Harper replied with a pair of goals a minute apart to put Harvard in front 8-7.

That would be the last time the Crimson held the lead in game. New Hampshire tied the game, 8-8, with 21:47 remaining in second half and then took the lead on a goal from Keefe.

Early in the first half, the game looked as though it would be a shootout, when the two teams combined for nine goals in the opening 13 minutes.

After New Hampshire took an early 1-0 lead, Harper and Corkery put Harvard on the board with a pair of goals a minute apart and freshman Katie Shaughnessy added another at the ten minute mark to put the Crimson in front 3-1.

The Wildcats came back to the tie the game, 4-4, before Corkery put Harvard ahead 5-4 with a goal just prior to the midway point in the half.

Corkery's goal would be the last either team would score for over 15 minutes, however, as both defenses adjusted to shutdown the early offensive barrage.

Harvard freshman goaltender Nora Guyer recorded 10 saves on the day, while her counterparts for New Hampshire, freshman Danielle Martin and junior Amanda Warren, stopped five and six shots respectively, splitting time in the Wildcat goal.

With 41 seconds remaining in the first half, freshman Jamie Hagerman finally broke the defensive deadlock, scoring to give Harvard a 6-4 lead and complete a strong opening half on a goal assisted by co-captain Jeanne Ficociello.

Harvard wraps up its season this Sunday when it hosts No. 14 Cornell.

"To win against Cornell, we have to play strong for a full 60 minutes," Walton said. "We have to keep the momentum we usually build in the first half and have it carry over after halftime."