Women's Lacrosse Bests Yale

It may not have been The Game, but four months later at Harvard Stadium, the Crimson schooled Yale yet again.

The Harvard women’s lacrosse team (2-4, 1-2 Ivy) earned its first conference victory against the Bulldogs (4-4, 0-3 Ivy), 10-5, on Saturday afternoon. It benefited from a diverse offensive attack driven by captain Micaela Cyr and fellow senior Danielle Tetrault, along with freshman Alexis Nicolia. The three each notched two goals through the contest.

“It’s Harvard-Yale so they’re always going to come out [and play hard],” Cyr said. “Defensively, we just tried to get in front, not foul and play our game like we know we can. [Goaltender Melanie Cook] came up with some huge saves, especially at the end of the game. Offensively, it’s the same thing; we tried working it and they pressured out.”

Despite blustering winds which caused the officials to occasionally pause the game, four other teammates found the back of the net. The seven scorers were the most in a game for the Crimson this season.

“If we’re a more balanced team, we’re harder to stop and I think that’s something that we’ve been trying to work on this week at practice,” Cyr said.

After entering the half up by two, a trio of goals in the first ten minutes of the second frame gave Harvard a five-point lead, 7-2.

As the second half opened, senior midfield Mariel Jenkins won a draw control and bolted down the field to snap the ball past Bulldog goaltender Erin McMullan. The goal was Jenkins’ first of the season. Just over eight minutes later, junior midfielder Lauren Tomkinson and Tetrault both scored unassisted goals within a minute of each other.

“I think it’s just important that when you have the lead, you’re looking to build on momentum coming out of halftime,” Harvard coach Lisa Miller said. “I think [Jenkins’s] goal definitely gave that to us. I think a lot of this game is about momentum and recognizing when you can pull away and when you need to make a stand.”

Yale scored three more times in the second half, with goals from Lauren Wackerle, Kerri Fleishhacker and Nicole Daniggelis. But its offense was too little too late.

Despite a yellow card on freshman midfield Tory Waldstein that put Harvard in a man-down situation, junior midfield Kyleigh Keating evaded defenders for her fifth goal of the season. Nearly two minutes later, still at a player-disadvantage, Cyr drew the ball left in the offensive zone to Nicolia, who drove the ball into the net over McMullan’s stick. To close the scoring, Tetrault scored a second unassisted goal with 1:35 left in regulation.

Five successful clear attempts during the second half allowed the Crimson to penetrate Yale’s offensive zone and dominate it.

Effective clearing and stick work in the middle of the field made room for Harvard’s attack unit to wind down the time and find looks at the net.

“I thought we played really well defensively,” Miller said. “We got ground balls and draw controls when we really needed it. I thought the attack was more patient than we have been. We called plays and moved off ball pretty well so I thought we managed the clock a bit better than we’ve been doing.”

Managing the time proved essential in the game, as college lacrosse does not use a shot clock.

“We separate the game into ten minute [pieces],” Cyr said. “We wanted to come out strong in the first ten minutes and set the tone and the same thing in the second half—we wanted to come out in the first ten minutes and set the tone for the rest of the game.”

The win was the second straight for the Crimson squad, which opened the season by dropping four decisions in a row.

“It’s a work in progress,” Miller said. “We’ve had some injuries and issues so I feel like the young kids are starting to fill roles and step it up. Overall I’ve been happy with practice. They go hard and are getting better every day. As a coach that’s all you can ask for.”

—Staff writer Cordelia F. Mendez can be reached at cordeliamendez@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @CrimsonCordelia.