If you put together a signature win over Duke, the third-best recruiting class in the country, and a preseason No. 12 ranking, expectations become almost impossible to meet.

After a walk-off finish in Game 2 of the Ivy League Championship Series, the Harvard softball team fell just short in its comeback bid in the final game, losing, 3-2, to Cornell Saturday at Niemand*Robison Field.

Needing only to beat its archrival Bulldogs (10-3, 4-2 Ivy) to secure a spot in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament, Harvard (6-6, 2-4) came up short.

Sophomore pitcher Rachel Brown pitched 10.1 innings over two games yesterday to help the Harvard softball team complete a four-game sweep of archrival Yale.

After all the hype that surrounded a No. 12 preseason ranking and the third-best recruiting class in the country, the Harvard men’s lacrosse team has a better chance of finishing dead last in the Ivy League than becoming one of the top four teams who will be invited to the inaugural Ivy League lacrosse tournament.

The Harvard men’s lacrosse team’s chances to earn its first postseason berth since 2006 took a serious blow Saturday when Ivy League bottom-dweller Penn (5-7, 1-4 Ivy) upset the No. 15 Crimson (5-5, 1-3), 12-7, at Franklin Field.

Locked in a 1-1 stalemate, the Crimson scored a season-high seven runs in the top of the 10th inning in an 8-1 rout of Providence College.

There aren’t that many things Harvard has failed to do since 1998, but beating Cornell in men’s lacrosse is one of them.

The Crimson rode strong pitching to its first sweep of Princeton (6-21, 0-4 Ivy) since 2007.