Kyla Cordrey and the Harvard defensive limited Northeastern's second half opportunities (Gil Talbot).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A late second half flurry of scoring chances came up short for the Harvard field hockey team (5-1), as Northeastern (6-2) was able to fend off the resilient Crimson, 1-0, Wednesday night at Jordan Field.

A scoreless first half gave way to a tightly contested second period, as the Huskies scored early, but then faced number of attacks from the Harvard offense in the closing minutes. Natalie Stewart put Northeastern on the board in the 43rd minute, collecting a loose ball to the right of the net and firing a shot that slipped passed Harvard's goalkeeper.

Northeastern was able to halt the Crimson's offensive efforts until just under 20 minutes remained and Harvard began threatening the Huskies' defensive zone. Sophomore Marissa Balleza saw a good scoring chance off her stick miss wide at the 56:39 mark, giving Harvard a much needed boost in momentum.

Harvard's best scoring opportunity came with nine minutes remaining, as freshman Ellie Cookson launched a blast off a penalty corner that narrowly missed the right side of the goal. The Crimson had one final chance, earning a penalty corner with 19 seconds left, but the play was unable to result in a shot attempt.

The first 35 minutes of action were controlled by Northeastern, as the Huskies outshot Harvard 7-3. Harvard netminder Issy Davies made two exceptional saves, both off penalty corners, late in the half to keep the game scoreless heading to half time.

The loss was just the first of the year for the Crimson who stands at 5-1 entering Saturday's Ivy League clash at Penn. Start time of that match is set for 12 p.m. with the Ivy League Digital Network providing a live stream of all the action.