ITHACA, N.Y. – Junior midfielder
Ilana Kofman scored at 2:39 of the second overtime period to lift Harvard Women's Lacrosse (6-5, 2-2 Ivy League) to a dramatic 14-13 win at Cornell (6-6, 2-2 Ivy League) on Saturday afternoon (April 8) at Shoellkopf Field.
Junior
Callie Hem had another solid day (four goals, two assists), first-year
Hannah Shiels added a career high four goals, and
Caroline Mullahy notched four assists for Harvard, which won its fourth straight game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In a first quarter that featured 11 combined goals, Harvard struck on its first possession of the day, as Shiels fired a bounce shot past Cornell goalie Ellie Horner at 14:10 to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead.
- Midway through the frame, Harvard stopped a three-goal Cornell run, as Riley Campbell (two goals, two assists) made a great outside-in move for a shot and a goal in front of the Cornell crease at 7:35.
- Hem scored her first of the day on Harvard's next possession, cutting straight to the cage and firing a low shot into the net at 6:59.
- Shiels scored twice more in a span of less than a minute, cutting left to right off a pass from Campbell and flipping a shot in at 4:34, then cutting to the middle to receive a feed from Mullahy at 3:48 to make it 5-4.
- A four-goal Cornell run gave the Big Red the lead at 8-5 early in the second quarter, but Harvard stayed within striking distance.
- Charlotte Hodgson scored a woman-up goal at 10:57 to make it 8-6.
- The game remained a two-goal game at the break, as Callie Hem scored twice more at 8:34 and 5:20, before a late Cornell goal with 1:19 to go in the half made it 10-8.
- The game turned more defensive in the second half, as Cornell and Harvard traded goals with the lead remaining two for the Big Red at the end of the third quarter.
- Campbell scored on a bounce shot at 5:55 of the frame, and Hem scored her fourth of the day on a free position shot from the left side with under a minute to play in the third quarter to make it 12-10.
- Harvard quickly tied the game in the fourth quarter. Charley Meier took a great flip pass from Hem and scored from in close at 14:32. Then Kofman scored her first of the day, as Hem drew two defenders and flipped to a cutting Kofman, who absorbed contact and fired a low shot into the net at 13:51.
- Harvard regained the lead on Hannah Shiels' fourth goal of the day at 8:53 off another great feed from Mullahy.
- A free position goal for Cornell with 1:27 left in regulation sent the game to overtime.
- After defensive stops on both ends in the first overtime frame, Kofman had possession after a key draw control from Shea Jenkins. Looking across the field, she flipped a ball that deflected off the stick of a Cornell defender and into the net to give Harvard the win at 2:39 of the second overtime.
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS
- Harvard defeated Cornell for the first time since 2018, and this marked the third straight Harvard-Cornell contest decided by one goal.
- Harvard had a 26-15 edge in shots on goal, a 16-12 margin on ground balls and a 19-13 margin on draw controls. The Crimson forced 13 turnovers on the day.
- Harvard has won four games in a row and six of its last seven. It has its longest winning streak since the 2012 season.
- Maddie Barkate led Harvard with nine draw controls on the day. Shea Jenkins had four caused turnovers and five draw controls. Grace Taylor led the Crimson with four ground balls on the day.
UP NEXT
Harvard will return home to Jordan Field to take on rival Yale next Saturday (April 15) in a 3:30 p.m. contest on ESPN+.
