Harvard Women’s Lacrosse Dominates Holy Cross

Harvard women’s lacrosse (3-5, 0-2 Ivy League) rebounded from a difficult start to the season, in which it dropped five of its first six games before earning a statement win over then-No. 12 Duke last week. On Tuesday night, the Crimson carried that winning momentum into a dominant victory over Holy Cross (4-6, 2-1 Patriot League) to secure its first back-to-back wins of the season.

The Batchelder sisters led the way for Harvard. Junior attack Callie Batchelder and freshman attack Cecelia Batchelder each recorded hat tricks, with Cecelia Batchelder posting a double hat trick and Callie Batchelder adding six assists for a nine-point performance.

Captain Kate Gilliam, the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, scored twice after her five-goal outing against the Blue Devils, while junior midfielder Grace Mullahy added two goals of her own.

Holy Cross opened the game with a draw control by senior defender Racheli Levi-Smith, who entered the matchup after winning five straight Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Crusaders got their first shot of the game from junior midfielder Annabel Brennan, but it fell out of bounds.

Soon after, Harvard captain Despina Giannakopoulos recovered an incomplete Holy Cross pass and found Cecelia Batchelder, who finished the play for the game’s first goal.

Holy Cross answered quickly. After Levi-Smith secured another draw control, the Crusaders pushed in a transition goal to tie the game at 2-2 less than four minutes into the first quarter.

Despite the back and forth, Harvard maintained its focus.

“Regardless of how our game starts off, we really believe in each other, and that carries us through,” Gilliam said.

That mindsight guided the Crimson through its next momentum-shifting defensive play.

Mullahy raced upfield after a Harvard interception, passing from sophomore defender Hayla Dora to Cecelia Batchelder, who capitalized on a nearly open goal to re-establish the lead. The goal gave Cecelia Batchelder the first hat trick of her collegiate career.

Shortly after, however, she received a green card and was sent to the sideline, as the Crimson maintained its position as the most penalized team in the Ivy League.

At the halfway mark of the quarter, Harvard came up with another interception and quickly turned defense into offense. Off the clear, the ball moved immediately to Cecelia Batchelder, who snagged her fourth goal of the game to extend the lead to 4-2.

Holy Cross followed with a long 80-second possession, but Harvard’s defense held firm and forced the Crusaders into another empty play. The Crimson capitalized again in transition, scoring as freshman attacker Emerson Midura added a free-position goal.

Harvard carried its focus into the second quarter, finding the back of the net within the opening minute.

Holy Cross responded with a woman-up goal, but the Crimson, shortly after, regained possession. Callie Batchelder scored through heavy contact and initially had trouble getting up.

Later in the quarter, the junior again absorbed a hard hit as she drove toward the goal, limping through the field while clutching her left leg. Still, the Newburyport, Mass., native stayed in the play long enough to earn a free-position opportunity, sending a shot just low before coming off the field shortly after.

Holy Cross continued to chip away at the lead through the second quarter as standout sophomore attacker Hadley Cepiel scored.

In an attempt to respond, Crimson freshman attacker Kenighan Mattice fired a shot, but was blocked by senior goalie Mackenzie Creagh. The Crusaders maintained this momentum with junior midfielder Jenn Prince scoring her tenth goal of the season, narrowing Harvard’s lead down to two.

The Crimson was quick to regain its strength as senior midfielder Charlotte Hodgson found a narrow angle from a distance.

Harvard restored its control from there.

Gilliam scored on a woman-up opportunity for the Crimson’s first extra-player goal of the game.

Mullahy followed with a wraparound finish to record her hat trick and extend Harvard’s lead to six — the team’s largest of the day to that point.

Soon after, Gilliam capitalized on another player-up advantage, scoring a tactful second goal.

The end of the third quarter showcased some of Harvard’s strongest defensive plays of the afternoon, with multiple caused turnovers and blocked shots stifling any Crusader momentum.

After nearly five scoreless minutes between the two teams, Harvard finally broke through a 70-second possession when Cecelia Batchelder scored to stretch the lead to eight.

Not long after, Callie Batchelder completed her hat trick off a pass in front, giving the Crimson a nine-goal advantage, and with another Harvard draw control, possession to open the fourth quarter.

In the final period, Mattice had another shot turned away by Creagh, while the Crusaders played with greater urgency on offense. Harvard’s defense held firm.

On one late possession, Holy Cross managed a remarkable shot with just two seconds left on the clock after a stoppage in play.

But in the final two minutes, with the outcome largely decided, Harvard remained sharp: Callie Batchelder set up her sister for another goal, completing her double hat trick.

Holy Cross answered with a low shot that slipped just under the goalie.

The Crimson finished the game with an eight-point lead and a career-high performance for freshman Cecelia Batchelder.

With the first month of this season underway, Callie Batchelder reflected on the team’s current status in the league.

“This isn’t the start that any of us had hoped for, but I think it just shows, you know, we strung two wins together these past couple days, and I think we have so much more to prove, and we haven’t even played our best lacrosse yet,” the junior said. “As we look forward to more Ivy League play, it’s a huge opportunity for us to show what Harvard lacrosse is about.”

Looking ahead, head coach Devon Wills is not quick to internalize the win.

“It was a good first step, but it was definitely not the end of the season, and it’s not something that we want to be satisfied with,” Wills said.

Next up, Harvard returns home to celebrate the program’s 50th anniversary when the team hosts Brown (4-4, 1-1 Ivy) on Saturday, March 28 at 12:00 p.m. EDT.

—Staff Writer Anat Goldstein can be reached at [email protected].