Crimson Falls To Dartmouth in Midweek Tilt

Hanover, N.H. – The Harvard women’s lacrosse team scored three goals in the final three minutes of play, but a seven-goal cushion in the first half by the Big Green allowed No. 13 Dartmouth to maintain its lead and earn a 13-6 win Wednesday afternoon.

Freshman Tyler Petropulos scored two goals for the Crimson (4-9, 1-4 Ivy), while junior Sara Flood had one goal and two assists on the afternoon. Freshman Katie Doherty posted a goal and an assists for two points. Sophomore Jess Halpern and senior Kaitlin Martin also found the back of the net. Kat Collins led the way for the Big Green (7-4, 4-1 Ivy) with three goals and three helpers.

Dartmouth and Harvard came up empty handed on their first shots of the game, but it was the Big Green that would strike first. Greta Meyer scored on a free position shot, to give the home team a 1-0 lead after five minutes of play. It didn’t take long for the Crimson to answer as Doherty won the draw control and handed off to Sara Flood for the score with 23:29 remaining in the first half. It was Flood’s 17th tally of the season.

The Crimson won the next draw control but turned it over and the Big Green took advantage. Katherine Chiusano broke open the 1-1 score with her first tally of the game. Dartmouth forced two more Harvard turnovers and scored another goal to take a 3-1 lead. The Big Green defense controlled the game, allowing just one Harvard shot during a 20 minute span, while the offense scored another time to make it 4-1 with 11:49 left to play. The home team scored twice more to take a 6-1 advantage at the break.

The Big Green increased its lead to 8-1 with two goals in the first eight minutes of the second session. Petropulos interrupted the scoring run with her 16th of the season with Flood earning the assist. Two quick back-to-back tallies midway through the second half put the home team up 11-2. Doherty cut into the lead with a feed from Kaitlin Martin, before Chiusano and Colleen Olsen scored just over a minute apart to push the lead to 13-3. After nine minutes of scoreless play, the Crimson put two goals into the net less than a minute apart. Halpern found Martin open to make it 13-4 and after Petropulos picked up the draw, Halpern scored on a free position shot to pull within 13-5. With 1:40 remaining on the clock, Petropulos scored her second off the game on a pass from Flood.

Freshman Kerry Clark played the entire first half and three minutes of the second. She turned aside four shots, while junior Katherine Martino made three stops. Halpern paced the Crimson with three ground balls, while Martin won three draw controls.

The Crimson plays its final home contest Saturday, April 18 at 1 p.m. Harvard hosts Columbia in its senior day game at Harvard Stadium. It’s the first game of a doubleheader with the Harvard men.