Junior Melanie Baskind tallied two goals at Penn Friday evening (photo courtesy of David Silverman).

PHILADELPHIA -- Melanie Baskind notched two goals and Katherine Sheeleigh scored once and assisted on both Baskind tallies, but the Harvard women's soccer fell at Penn in its Ivy League opener, 4-3, Friday evening.  Baskind and Sheeleigh each amassed four points, while goalkeeper Jessica Wright made two saves. 

At 12:07, Sheeleigh, who climbed to sixth on Harvard's all-time scoring list with 64 points, notched her third goal of the season, putting a shot past Caroline Williams to give Harvard a 1-0 lead.  Defender Lindsey Kowal sent in a long pass into the box, and Sheeleigh fought off a defender before kicking the ball through.  The Crimson's lead lasted only 73 seconds, as Ursula Lopez-Palm scored off a rebound from a free kick.  Wright was not able to handle a header off a free kick, and Lopez-Palm kicked the ball in at the goal line.

Sheeleigh helped Harvard (2-4-1, 0-1-0 Ivy League) grab its second lead at 21:09, as she placed a short cross from the left side directly to Baskind.  Baskind fired a shot that deflected into the right side of the cage, putting the Crimson ahead, 2-1.  In the 29th minute, the Quakers tied the game for the second time when Sarah Friedman played a ball through the middle of the Crimson defense, allowing Marin McDermott to capitalize for the goal.  In the final minutes of the half, Penn (4-3-0, 1-0-0) went ahead, 3-2, at 40:28, as Erin Beck blasted a shot from 25 yards out that Wright could not grab.

Sheeleigh and Baskind teamed up for Harvard's third goal at 59:12, as Baskind accepted a cross pass from Sheeleigh and placed a shot into a wide open side of the net, tying the game, 3-3.  In the 71st minute, Penn reclaimed a lead, 4-3, after Lopez-Palm notched her second goal of the game, putting a shot over Wright's shoulder and just inside the near post. 

Harvard held a 12-10 advantage in shots for the game, including 10-7 in shots on goal, as Williams finished the contest with seven saves.  The Crimson also owned an edge in corner kicks, 5-4.

Harvard will now step back into non-conference play and will visit Massachusetts Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast in Western Massachusetts on CBS 3 Now (Springfield).