CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's lacrosse went toe to toe with the No. 23 Penn Quakers on Saturday scoring 13 goals in an eventual narrow loss to the Ivy League's top team. The Crimson got six goals from Callie Hem and three from Caroline Mullahy in the effort.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a great day for lacrosse at Jordan Field as the Harvard Crimson and the Penn Quakers met on the turf at Jordan Field to renew their Ivy League rivalry.
• The Quakers were first to strike, getting an early goal 39 seconds into the action. Harvard's starting goalie, Lizzie Francioli, settled in after the early goal, making two saves to hold off Penn.
• After another Quaker goal, Harvard quickly answered with two goals of their own. The first Crimson goal of the day went to Caroline Mullahy and the second went to Callie Hem. Penn added one more goal at the end of the period to take a 3-2 lead.

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Caroline Mullahy shows off the wheels to get Harvard another goal and the lead! pic.twitter.com/OuLmW83Gvy

— Harvard Women's Lax (@HARVARDWLAX) March 18, 2023

• After both teams traded possession in the early going of the second quarter, Harvard went on a three-goal run to build a lead. Mullahy had the first goal in the sequence, followed by a pair of goals for Hem, who completed her hat-trick in the second quarter. The three-goal run gave the Crimson a 5-3 advantage. Penn was able to battle back and score twice in the final two minutes to even the score going into halftime.

The Crimson is ROLLING!!

Callie Hem completes her hat trick off a great pass from Kofman! pic.twitter.com/uU9nC4LAGC

— Harvard Women's Lax (@HARVARDWLAX) March 18, 2023

• The action-packed third quarter featured both teams combining for 11 goals, a season high in a Crimson game this year. Penn retook the lead early, but not for long as the Crimson put together another three-goal run thanks to tallies from Riley Campbell, Mullahy and Hem. The Quakers responded with six goals in the final eight minutes, going on a 6-1 run to close the quarter. Hem had the strike to stop the run, bringing the score to 12-9 after three quarters.
• The Penn run continued into the fourth quarter, as the Quakers score four unanswered goals to build a 16-9 lead.
• Harvard continued to run, scoring four straight goals trying to comeback. Maddie Barkate started the run with her first goal of the day followed by Hem and Charlotte Hodgson. Hem capped off the scoring with her sixth goal of the day as Harvard's comeback effort fell short in a 16-13 final score.

 

HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS

• The reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, Callie Hem, led the squad with six goals on the afternoon. Hem added three assists to total nine points, a new career high.
• Caroline Mullahy also registered a new career-high with three goals on the day.
• Riley Campbell, Maddie Barkate and Charlotte Hodgson added two points each with a goal and an assist per player.
• Goalies Lizzie Francioli and Chloe Provenzano combined to make 10 saves in net.
• Despina Giannakopoulos led the team with five groundballs and two caused turnovers.
• Hodgson had a team-high four draw controls in the effort.

 

UP NEXT

Harvard will return to action this Wednesday when it travels to North Andover, Mass. to take on the Merrimack Warriors in a non-league tilt. The action between the Crimson and the Warriors is set to begin at 5:00 PM.