Ithaca, N.Y. - Sophomore Jess Halpern scored
four goals and added an assist as the Harvard women's
lacrosse team turned a one-point halftime lead into a 11-7 victory
over No. 20 Cornell Saturday afternoon. The Crimson defense and
goalie Katherine Martino shut out the Big Red defense in the second
half, holding them without a goal.
The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Crimson and is also
the first win over a ranked opponent for a current member of the
team. Harvard finishes its Ivy League campaign with a 2-5 record
and currently sports a 5-10 overall record. Cornell falls to 9-6
overall and 3-4 in Ancient Eight play.
Halpern was one of six Crimson players to find the back of the net.
Senior Kaitlin Martin and junior tri-captain Sara Flood added a
goal each, while freshman Katie Doherty had a goal and an assist.
Freshman Tyler Petropulos and senior tri-captain Shannon Flynn had
a goal apiece.
The Crimson scored first with an unassisted Halpern tally before
Cornell put back-to-back goals in to take a 2-1 lead three minutes
later. Halpern put two more goals in for her 11th hat trick of the
season, putting the lead back in the visitors' hands. Jessica
Weigland tied it up at three with a free position goal, but the
Crimson scored five-straight which included a pair from Flood to
take an 8-3 lead with 12:52 left in the first half. The last 11
minutes of the half belong to the Big Red who fired off four goals
to pull within one of Harvard's lead.
Halpern and Martin scored free position goals and Doherty added
another tally with 14 minutes to play but that was the only scoring
in the second session as the final 30 minutes were all about
defense. Cornell only had six shots in the second half and Martino
stopped three of them. Martino had eight saves in 60 minutes of
work in the net.
Both teams had 22 shots in the game. Cornell held the advantage in
draw controls, 11-9, and ground balls, 17-13. The Big Red also had
18 turnovers compared to 15 for the Crimson.
Doherty, Flood and Martin had two draw controls each, while
freshman Ellen Gleason, junior Delia Pais and Martino had two
ground balls each.
The Crimson closes out the 2009 campaign Thursday against Boston
College. Game time is slated for 4:30 p.m. in Chestnut Hill.
