The offense worked nicely--the Tiger defense was forced to contain successive threats from the Crimson attack.
No goals came from them, and Princeton goaltender Liz Hill only made five saves, but there were close calls.
Balls rolled dangerously across the crease. Slapshots whistled to the right and left of the posts.
But, to Hill's credit, the net remained unruffled.
"I think we realized when it was 1-0 that unless we worked together Princeton was going to take it to us," Milhollin (12 saves) said. "We just didn't get the shots on net."
Soon enough, the Tigers learned that they could counterattack. And that it would work.
With only 13:00 left to play, Princeton's Amy MacFarlane dribbled a rebound between Milhollin's legs. After dominating practically all of the second half, Harvard was down, 2-0.
"They converted, and they put the ball in the net," Caples said. "You can't stop thinking for one second."
By this time, the game was essentially over. Scoring two goals in 13:00 is very difficult, and having the Tigers add one more with 3:23 left didn't help.
Nevertheless, it was not a blowout. A loss certainly, but not a thrashing.
"I think that they played well enough to win," Milhollin said, "but not well enough to win 3-0."