CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A dominant first half was enough to lead women's lacrosse over Brown by a score of 12-9 on Saturday afternoon in front of a packed house at Jordan Field.
After a relentless offensive attack in the opening quarter, the Crimson won its third straight game and picked up its first win in conference play to cap off a big day for the program.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Crimson came out firing in the opening quarter and a half, netting eight straight goals to grab a commanding lead in the first half.
Brown scored the first goal of the game before the Crimson responded with two goals from Grace Mullahy on free position opportunities to tie and take the lead. Harvard would go on to score three goals in a minute and thirty seconds to keep the momentum going, thanks to Cecelia Batchelder, another from Grace Mullahy, and Tori Balser.
Mullahy completed a first-quarter hat trick after converting on a pass from Callie Batchelder on the woman-up, tallying three of the first four Crimson goals of the game.
Cecelia Batchelder finished the quarter with the second straight woman-up goal after another helper from her sister Callie. Batchelder caught the ball to the right of the cage and wired a shot that went post and in for her eighth goal in the last five quarters.
Charlotte Hodgson started the second quarter with another goal, going into contact and outmuscling her defender for yet another highlight-reel play. After a quick feed from Grace Mullahy behind the cage, Hodgson dodged into coverage and then went up and over her defender for her first of the game.
Natalie Marvin added the eighth straight goal for the Crimson after getting the ball in the slot and firing a shot that deflected off the Brown netminder and into the back of the net for a commanding lead.
Brown broke the run when Caroline Nozzoliillo made it 8-2, but Charlotte Hodgson and Callie Batchelder quickly responded to make it 10-2 with 4:53 left in the second quarter. Brown would score with five seconds left in the half to make it a seven-goal advantage for the Crimson.
Kate Gilliam opened the second half with a free position shot to give Harvard its biggest lead of the afternoon before the Bears responded with a run of their own. Brown scored five straight goals between the third and fourth quarters to cut the Crimson lead to three with 3:48 remaining. Charlotte Hodgson, for the second time in recent weeks, netted the dagger with just over two and a half minutes left after working her way toward the net and once again outworking her defender to give Harvard a 12-8 lead as time wound down.
Brown added one more late in the quarter, but the fast start was enough for the Crimson as it picked up a crucial win in the Ivy League standings.
GAME NOTES
- Charlotte Hodgson has netted the dagger in two of the last three games.
- Emma Barkauskas improves to 3-1 on the year as the sophomore made three consecutive starts for the first time in her career.
- Hodgson recorded her third hat trick of the season and now has seven goals in her last three games, including three in the fourth quarter.
- Cecilia and Callie Batchelder once again led the Crimson in points, combining for eight on the afternoon.
- Cecilia finished with two goals and two assists and now has 13 points in her last three games, recording 3+ points in four of her last five.
- Callie added four helpers and has totaled 18 points in her last three games and 22 in her last five.
- As a duo, the sisters have combined for 31 points over the last three games.
- Grace Mullahy joined Hodgson as the only other Crimson player with a hat trick.
- Seven different Crimson players scored in the win.
- Despina Giannakopoulos recorded two ground balls on the defensive end to finish the week with 10 over two games.
NEXT UP
Harvard heads to Philadelphia to take on Penn next Saturday.
