Donahoe, who has been plagued by bad decision-making in past games, made all the right calls in the second half as she snuffed breakaways, broke up corner kicks and stonewalled the Massachusetts attack.

Matias, Weinstein, Vinton and Berte shut down the Minutewomen's most dangerous offensive weapons. Star Minutewoman forward Kim Eynard was virtually eliminated as an effective threat.

As time wound down, the energy level of the game increased. Johnston was brought back to play defense, and she helped to frustrate the frantic Massachusetts attack.

"We didn't want to pack the box," Wheaton said. "But, up 1-0, we had to play a conservative game."

The crushing pressure was only occasionally broken by Minkus and Uustal, with help from sophomores Betsy Miller and Laura Flynn. Short drives allowed the defense to catch its breath.

In the final minutes, Harvard abandoned its short passing game in favor of booming kicks downfield. Massachusetts would not die, but the Crimson held on and secured the biggest win of its season so far.

"Everything clicked for us," Uustal said. "We'd been unlucky before, but not today."

"We never gave up," Wheaton said. "We played smart and hard, and never lost our confidence."

The Crimson, after a shaky start, is now 3-1 in its last four games, with the only loss coming at the hands of second-ranked Connecticut.