No. 19 Women’s Lacrosse Falls to No. 13 Princeton in Ivy League Opener

Despite a strong start, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team (3-2, 0-1 Ivy) could not contain No. 13 Princeton’s (5-1, 1-0 Ivy) relentless offensive pressure during the Ivy opener, losing 20-6 at Sherrerd Field.

After a thrilling overtime win against the No. 25 University of Connecticut last week, the Crimson looked to upset the Tigers on Saturday. The game had particularly high stakes for Harvard, which fell in a devastating overtime loss against Princeton at home last spring.

Although Princeton notched an early two-goal lead in the first quarter, Harvard juniors Kate Gilliam and Charlotte Hodgson quickly responded with goals of their own.

The Tigers, spurred by their rapid passing, picked up the go-ahead point before the Crimson’s freshman Tori Blaser drove home a free-position shot, deadlocking the scoreboard at 3-3.

In the final few seconds of the quarter, Harvard’s junior defender Despina Giannakopoulos caused a turnover and pushed the ball upfield to senior Charley Meier, who then fired it on net. However, Amelia Hughes, Princeton’s goalie, came up with a huge save, cementing the score at 5-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Despite its strong early play, Harvard struggled to maintain possession of the ball, particularly on the draw, which gave the home team an enormous offensive advantage.

In the second quarter, the Crimson had a hard time protecting its sticks against the Tigers’ pressure on the offensive ride. Harvard had a few costly turnovers during its clear attempts and was then cited with a string of fouls as Princeton began to ramp up its offensive pace.

The Tigers, capitalizing on the penalties, ignited a strong three-goal scoring run that was fueled by attackers McKenzie Blake and Jani MacDonald. At the end of the half, Princeton had stretched its lead to 8-3.

After winning the first draw of the third quarter, the Tigers bolstered their lead to 9-3. With this goal, the team rallied offensive momentum, as it went on to score four more, forcing Harvard Head Coach Devon Wills to call a timeout.

As the score now read 13-3 in favor of Princeton, it looked as if Harvard’s hope for an upset was dead. However, after the break and speech from Wills, the Crimson struck back. Blaser secured the draw control and drove towards the net, firing the ball past Hughes and initiating a comeback opportunity for her team.

Hodgson then had a stellar caused-turnover, leading to another Harvard goal as she set sophomore Callie Batchelder up for her first goal of the contest.

Princeton was able to tally one more point as the clock dwindled to zero, but the Crimson kept up the competitive spirit despite Princeton’s 14-5 lead.

In the final fifteen minutes, though, Harvard failed to match the Tigers’ quick pace.

The home team scored five more goals, extending its lead to 15-5. Then, Gilliam tallied her second goal of the game, but with only 3:36 remaining on the clock, it was too late for Harvard to go on an offensive streak.

After Princeton snagged the resulting draw, Haven Dora, recently named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, fired home the final goal of the afternoon.

When the final buzzer rang, the scoreboard read 20-6. Harvard struggled in the face of offensive powerhouses like MacDonald, who notched five goals and five assists during the game, tying Princeton’s record for the most points in a single contest. Blake also proved to be a challenge for the Crimson, as she put up a notable five goals and one assist. The Harvard team, bound to face more star-power in its upcoming games, will look to fine-tune its defensive strategies in the face of such players.

The Crimson will look to rebound quickly from the loss as it continues its road trip against Holy Cross (5-2, 1-0 Patriot League) this Tuesday. Although they are not nationally ranked, the Crusaders have had a strong start to their season, falling only to Brown and the University of Massachusetts.

– Staff Writer Isabel C. Smail can be reached at isabel.smail@thecrimson.com.