W. Lacrosse Upsets BU for Second Year in a Row

Neither a nationally-ranked opponent nor torrential downpours could stop the Harvard women’s lacrosse team yesterday afternoon, as freshman midfielder Elaine Belitsos’ third goal of the game gave the Crimson (4-3, 0-1 Ivy) an 11-10 win over No. 20 BU at Jordan Field.

The win was Harvard’s second straight upset of the Terriers (3-4), who fell 7-6 to the Crimson last season despite being ranked No. 7 nationally.

Harvard entered the game looking to recover from a heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Yale in the Crimson’s Ivy opener on Saturday.

But BU jumped out to a quick three-goal advantage behind scores from senior midfielder Ericka Hergenroeder, senior defender Molly Byrne and tri-captain midfielder Kristin Abruzzese.

“Seeing 3-0 up on the scoreboard is kind of discouraging,” sophomore Jen Brooks said.

So she did something about it, converting a free position shot to get Harvard on the scoreboard. After a tally by junior midfielder Katie Shaughnessy, senior attacker Melissa Christino evened the score with just over five minutes to play in the first half.

The two teams refused to go quietly into halftime, as senior defender Erin Kutner fouled Abruzzese, who converted the ensuing penalty to recapture the lead for the Terriers.

Belitsos responded for the Crimson only 11 seconds later, but junior midfielder Briana Smith scored to put BU ahead, 5-4.

Only 14 seconds later, Belitsos answered again, taking a rebound on the ground and netting the equalizer with what she called a “field hockey flick.”

But with 36 seconds to go in the half, freshman midfielder Alyssa Trudel beat Harvard sophomore goalkeeper Laura Mancini to stake the Terriers to a 6-5 halftime advantage.

Almost immediately at the start of the second half, Christino and Shaughnessy each scored to put Harvard back in front only 1:35 into the half.

But the Crimson soon had to combat two separate deluges—the rain that began coming down in sheets and a goal by tri-captain defender Gabby Juocys and two from Trudel that put Harvard into a 9-7 hole with under 19 minutes to go.

As the storm continued and cancellation became an increasingly plausible option, the rule declaring a game official once 80 percent—48 minutes—of it has been played crept into the back of the Crimson’s collective mind.

Harvard’s sense of urgency grew with every tick of the clock, but consecutive goals by co-captain defender Hilary Walton, off of passes from Belitsos and Christino, respectively, knotted the contest.

Walton, though, declined to take credit for her tallies.

“I sort of started to read the draw a little better and took off at the draw and Elaine hit me with a great pass,” Walton said of the goal that pulled the Crimson within one.

Shaughnessy completed her hat trick with 11:25 to play, putting Harvard up 10-9 and in position to win had the game been called.

Just over a minute later, Abruzzese rounded out her own hat trick, setting the stage for Belitsos’ heroics.

With 1:41 remaining, Harvard took possession off an off-sides call. Christino led a three-on-two break and found the freshman, who slotted the ball past Terrier tri-captain netminder Brooke Barrett for the hat trick, Christino’s third assist and, most importantly, the win.

“I just kind of threw my stick up there because the lighting was in my eyes, but luckily I snagged it and converted it,” Belitsos said.

Belitsos’ modesty didn’t surprise anyone.

“She plays very much within herself, so for her as an individual, [the game-winner] didn’t mean nearly as much for her as it did for the rest of team,” Walton said.

Still, Belitsos’ ability in front of the net has gone a long way towards making Crimson fans forget about All-American Ali Harper ’01.

“[Belitsos has] been phenomenal this season,” Brooks said. “She’s just incredibly poised.”

“She has brought tons of in-tight skill in front of the goal,” Walton added. “I have every confidence that she’s going to put the ball in the net.”

But this victory was a team effort. The offense came alive while Mancini (nine saves) and freshman Kelly Noon spearheaded a strong defensive effort and senior Heather Gotha and junior Leslie Moroz were effective in the midfield in ways that didn’t show up in the box score.

“It’s a huge win,” Brooks said. “It definitely sets a standard for us for the rest of the season, particularly coming off such a disheartening loss. I think it shows that, when it comes down to it, we can do what we need to do to pull off the win.”

On Sunday, Harvard begins a stretch of four consecutive Ivy games with a match at Penn.