Crimson Pulls Off Comeback Against Wildcats

After falling behind 6-0 with 10:27 left in the first half, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team took a stand.

The Crimson (4-4, 2-1 Ivy) responded with eight unanswered goals to pull out an 8-6 victory over New Hampshire (5-5, 0-1 America East) Friday night under the lights at Harvard Stadium. Sophomore Jennifer VanderMeulen, who finished with a team-high three scores, notched the tying and winning goals in the victory.

New Hampshire got on the board first with a goal by junior JoJo Curro. Starting from behind the net, Curro gave a quick spin move and slipped a wrap-around shot past junior goalie Kerry Clark for the first score.

A goal by junior Hayley Rausch and consecutive scores by sophomore Amber Casiano gave the Wildcats a 4-0 lead with 16:37 remaining in the half.

New Hampshire further extended its lead with goals from senior Allie Duclos and sophomore Jenny Simpson. Junior Ilana Cohen gave a nifty pass from behind the net to a streaking Duclos, who fired the shot into the goal.

After the score, which extended the Wildcats lead to 6-0, it seemed that Harvard was in for a long night.

“I think we came out a little slow in the first half,” VanderMeulen said. “[After the] 6-0 lead by UNH, [we] were taken aback…and it was [like] alright, this is enough.”

Just nine seconds after the goal from Duclos, junior tri-captain Melanie Baskind ignited the Crimson comeback. Baskind took the draw and raced down the field on a one-man fast break, firing a low shot past the keeper that finally put Harvard on the board.

“Mel had a great momentum goal, and we started to build off that,” VanderMeulen said.

Junior Jess Halpern continued the rally with a score off an attack from behind the net, cutting New Hampshire’s lead to 6-2.

Harvard ended the half in a fury, scoring three goals in the final minute and 23 seconds of the half.

Halpern started the streak, notching a score with 1:23 remaining. Sophomore Danielle Tetreault followed with a quick goal just over a minute later off an attack from the right sideline.

The two goals put the Crimson down two with 16 seconds left in the half.

But VanderMeulen would not concede that Harvard was done for the half. The sophomore took a pass from freshman Chelsey Newman and wrapped a shot around the goalie for a score with only four ticks remaining.

The goal completed the momentum shift, as Harvard entered the locker room only down one goal, 6-5, to the Wildcats.

“I thought the defensive unit did a nice job adjusting and the attack started to score in transition,” Harvard coach Lisa Miller said. “[The team] adjusted to a different game plan and got a little bit mad and played with a bit more energy and intensity.”

In the second half, scoring goals came at a premium with neither team finding the back of the net in the first four and a half minutes.

But after being fouled and given a free-position shot, VanderMeulen had the first real opportunity for the Crimson to tie the game.

As soon as the whistle blew and play commenced, the lefty snapped a shot off that tied the match with 25:33 remaining.

Both teams charged back and forth from goal to goal with several missed opportunities by the Crimson to take the lead. With under 11 minutes to play, the score remained tied at 6-6.

But VanderMeulen was again fouled and given another free-position opportunity, this time with the chance to give Harvard its first lead of the game.

“Being down one and being tied, I knew that someone had to step up and put some shots away because we were having some troubles with their goalie,” VanderMeulen said. “A free position is a free chance to score; you have to try to capitalize on those. I know my team needed me to put it away.”

VanderMeulen did just that, finding the net with a bounce shot for her third goal of the day.

While Harvard tried to run out the clock, the Wildcats were on the attack the rest of the game trying to even the score—and with about two and a half minutes remaining, New Hampshire seemed poised to tie the game.

The Wildcats gained control of the ball in front of the Crimson net and fired a low shot that looked destined to be a goal only to be saved by Clark, who kept Harvard’s lead intact.

The Crimson gained possession and charged the ball up field, running out the clock with sharp passing, culminating in an empty-net goal by junior Tyler Petropulos with no time remaining, giving Harvard the 8-6 win.

“Apparently we are going to be in close games all this year,” Miller said. “That seems to [be our] M.O. It’s fun for the fans…[but] a little nerve-racking.”