It showed. Senior Karen Everling, coming off a six-goal performance against UMass, tallied midway through the period to draw the Crimson within one goal. French was again instrumental in the goal, coming up with the second of what Walser called 'impossible assists.'
"It was beautiful," Walser said. "It was a 'thread the needle' pass."
And it was Everling who pulled the Crimson even when she scored, unassisted, three minutes later. The senior attacker also contributed to the impermeable Harvard defense that held the Hounds to one second-half goal, dropping back to double-team Loyola attackers after a Kleinfelder halftime adjustment.
Joslin gave the Crimson its first lead with another unassisted goal, but Gallagher thrilled the raucous crowd by knotting the score at 5-5 with six minutes remaining.
The stage was set for Walser's heroics.
With time ticking away, Walser received the ball from Ceci Clark in front of the Loyola goal.
"I saw the goalie go for the interception," Walser said. "I took a stupid, no-angle shot on an open cage. It was not beautiful."
Beautiful or not, Walser's score silenced the pack of Hounds, giving the Crimson an important win over a disciplined squad while solidifying its number one ranking.
"We played them a lot tougher than last year," Anderson said. "Hopefully, we'll get to see them again."
While the Hounds may be hungry, Crimson players believe they have yet to gel completely on offense. That should scare opposing teams.
"We haven't peaked," Clifford said. "Last year, I think we peaked earlier."
With last year's disappointment in the NCAA finals lingering in the back of its minds, the Harvard women's lacrosse team moves on.
THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson will face its last dangerous test of the regular season on Sunday when it takes on undefeated third-ranked Maryland at Ohiri Field at 1 p.m.
Crimson, 6-5 in Baltimore Loyola 4-1-5 HARVARD 2-4-6
Goals: Loyola-Colleen Anderson, Joy Bogusky, Sharon Jones, Sabrina Gallagher 2;H-Julie Clifford, Karen Everling 2, Char Joslin 2, Jennifer Walser.
Assists: Loyola-Anderson, Karen Ravn; H-Julia French 2.
Saves: Loyola-Sue Heether 20; H-Sarah Leary 8.