Women's Lacrosse's Comeback Attempt Falls Short at Vanderbilt

After five consecutive Vanderbilt goals in the first period, the Harvard women’s lacrosse squad had a large scoring gap to close for the remainder of the match.

The Crimson battled to decrease the deficit, with its first look at a comeback coming in the final 30 seconds of the first period when two senior midfielders, Danielle Tetreault and captain Micaela Cyr, each pocketed a goal to bring the score to 10-4 at the half.

The Crimson (2-7, 1-2 Ivy) faced off against the Commodores (2-12, 0-3 ALC) Monday in Nashville, with the match initially appearing to be a close one. Although Vanderbilt tallied a point in only the second minute, Harvard quickly answered with a goal from Cyr after the captain was fed the ball from freshman attack Alexis Nicolia.

The Crimson failed to register another point until the 17th minute when freshman Audrey Todd netted a goal, closing the Crimson deficit to four. Todd would also go on to register a hat trick.

The Commodores pulled away again, scoring three goals in four minutes and then a fourth point with two minutes remaining in the half. All four goals came from four different Vanderbilt players.

Todd and Cyr opened the second half the same way they ended the first, with each scoring a quick unassisted goal within three minutes to bring their team back within four. Nearly 15 minutes after the opening two goals, Vanderbilt responded with a score of its own.

For the remainder of the match, Harvard and the Commodores alternated scoring, each team coming up with five goals in the final 14 minutes. Junior midfielder Kyleigh Keating found the back of the net to bring the score to 11-7, but a man-up situation in Vanderbilt’s favor widened the scoring gap yet again.

The final four Crimson goals came from senior midfielder Nina Kucharczyk, Nicolia, Todd, and Tetreault. Although Harvard outscored the Commodores by two goals during that time span, the rally was not enough to overtake Vanderbilt as the Crimson ultimately fell, 15-11.

Three was the reoccurring number for Harvard during the match. Todd and Cyr led the Crimson with three goals apiece, while Tetreault tallied three points with a goal and two assists. Freshman midfielder Isabella Wager picked up a team-high of three ground balls.

Harvard coach Lisa Miller and members of the team could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

—Staff writer Kelley Guinn McArtor can be reached at kelleyguinnmcartor@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @CrimsonKGM.