Late Brown Spurt Downs Harvard

The Crimson kept the game close with visiting Brown for two quarters of last night’s game at Blodgett Pool. Then the Bears outscored Harvard, 5-0, in a dominating third period to run away with a 8-3 win.

After a missed Brown shot, the Crimson put the first points on the board with a goal by junior captain Lauren Snyder on the third possession of the game. Solid defense and goaltending kept the Bears from scoring until only 1:29 remained in the first quarter, when the Brown’s Caitlin Fahey threw a no-look shot into the cage while facing away from the goaltender.

The next goal did not come until late in the second quarter, after Harvard freshman goaltender Ariel Delgado made several tough saves, including a couple open fast-break looks. She racked up six stops in a huge second quarter, holding the Bears to just one goal.

But in the third quarter Brown took advantage of the Crimson’s defensive breakdowns and lack of depth to put in five unanswered scores. Harvard also racked up a few key penalties resulting in successful extra-man situations for the visitors.

“We felt the lack of bodies with our short bench and [Brown] just capitalized on that,” Snyder said.

The third period ended with the Bears up, 7-1, but the Crimson would not let them get away easily. After catching its breath during the break, Harvard displayed some of the solid defense it had exhibited in the first half, and held Brown scoreless for most of the final quarter.

Snyder rocketed in another goal after with 5:35 left in the fourth period, which was followed by a score by sophomore Devon MacLaughlin two minutes later.

The Crimson rally died on the Bears’ next goal—a score by an undefended Ally Wyatt off a cross-pool pass.

A final shot by MacLaughlin hit the pipe as the buzzer sounded and the first game of the teams’ two-game season series ended in defeat.

“Well, it was three good quarters and one lousy one,” Harvard coach Erik Farrar said. “You can’t get outscored 5-0 in a one-score game and expect good things to happen.”

Delgado totaled 17 saves in an otherwise solid game and led the defense in holding the Bears to three goals in the first, second, and fourth quarters combined.

“We’re really spoiled—we always have a great goalie that can keep us in any game,” Snyder said.