Late Comeback Not Enough For Win

When Brown’s Kara Kelly notched an early second-half goal to put her team in front, 10-3, few of the fans at Harvard Stadium could have imagined that the Harvard women’s lacrosse team would have an opportunity just 24 minutes later to send the game into overtime.

Thanks to 7-1 run to close out the game, the Crimson set up for a draw control down by a single goal with 1:01 left to play.

But despite winning the possession and finding multiple opportunities to score in the final minute, Harvard was unable to come away with the goal it needed to complete the comeback, as the Crimson (3-4, 1-2 Ivy) fell to Brown (3-3, 1-2) on Saturday afternoon, 11-10.

“The crowd thinks it’s a great comeback, but in reality, it’s a game we probably should have won,” Harvard coach Lisa Miller said. “I’m not happy with it—that’s the bottom line.”

The Crimson took possession off the draw control thanks to a hustle play from sophomore Tyler Petropulos, who was fouled diving for the loose ball.

With possession, Harvard advanced the ball up the field, and with 28 seconds left, Crimson sophomore Melanie Baskind let a shot fly at the goal. But the attempt sailed wide right.

Harvard got one more chance to even the score, getting the ball to freshman Micaela Cyr behind the cage. Cyr swung around and attacked the goal with five seconds to go. With just one tick left on the clock, Cyr attempted to get a shot off but was fouled by a Bears defender just before the final horn sounded.

After a brief conference, the referees put one second on the clock and granted Cyr a free-position shot. Lined up several yards away from the goal, the rookie had time for just one step before letting the shot go.

But Brown goalkeeper Isabel Harvey stepped in front of the ball, securing the victory for her team.

“I knew I only had one second, so I just tried to get in as far as I could and shoot it,” Cyr said.

Co-captain Sara Flood got the second-half run started for the Crimson, using a move to beat her defender and find an open path to the goal for her first score of the game.

Freshman Jennifer VanderMeulen followed with a score less than three minutes later, getting fouled in front of the net and then scoring off a free-position shot.

Harvard then took possession and managed to get the ball to VanderMeulen in front of the net. VanderMeulen was fouled again, but this time her free-position shot was knocked away by Harvey. Flood brought the Crimson within four, picking up the rebound and sending it home—forcing the Bears to take a timeout.

“[Harvard] played so hard that second half and forced turnovers and had good pressure,” Brown coach Keely McDonald said. “You just tell the kids to keep playing their game.”

Coming out of the break, the Bears slowed the pace of play down, passing the ball around the perimeter to milk the clock.

Harvard eventually took back possession with nine minutes left when co-captain Delia Pais picked up a loose ball.

The Crimson scored three goals in just over three minutes off free-position shots from freshman Danielle Tetreault, VanderMeulen, and Petropulos to get within one with 4:14 left.

After Petropulos’ goal, the Bears won the ensuing draw control and began to stall again. With 2:33 to play, Harvard was whistled for a foul, setting up a scoring opportunity for Brown.

Senior goalkeeper Katherine Martino deflected the Bears’ first shot attempt, but Brown’s Tara Rooke put back the rebound to give her team a two-goal lead with 1:39 left.

Baskind answered 38 seconds later, taking a pass from VanderMeulen in front of the net and then beating Harvey to set up Harvard’s final possession.

But the Crimson’s first-half deficit was ultimately too much to overcome.

In the opening frame, Harvard was fully outplayed by the Bears, surrendering nine goals and losing nine of 12 draw controls. Brown was led by sophomore attacker Kaela McGilloway, who notched five scores in the opening frame.

“To me, the real issue is the first half,” Miller said. “Until we fix the fact that we feel other people out and wait for them to set the tone, it doesn’t really matter what we do in the second half.”

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