Regulation ended and the tired players slowly came off the field, only to return in five minutes for two 15-minute overtime periods. However, once again, the Crimson came out running and gunning.
In the first extra period, the Crimson had an excellent scoring chance--so good, perhaps, some might have even ruled it a goal. Stauffer struck a ball well that hit the crossbar, ricocheted down towards the goal line, but then rolled back out, away from the goal mouth. The ball clearly seemed to be across the goal line, but for the third time, the referee made no call where he well might have.
Despite the injustices and the bad luck they had been experiencing, the Harvard women continued to play hard and go to the goal. The second overtime period was much like the first, and most of the game for that matter--lots of Harvard chances, and no goals.
"They just kept firing shots, but Dion kept us in it," Iverson said. "We made them come down and play at our level."
After a mere 120 minutes of soccer, both teams prepared for another 15 minutes, this time of sudden death. The fatigue in the players was more than apparent. Shots and crosses became one and the same, and play almost ground to a halt.
Then, in what started to become clear as being the only fitting end in the ultimate injustice against Harvard, UMass began to create chaos and chances in the Crimson end. In the delirium of the 132nd minute, an errant Minutewoman cross-shot towards the Crimson goal was inadvertently deflected by Larson's head into the net past a diving Burney, desperately trying to re-adjust in mid-air.
The game was over and the Crimson was suddenly dead. Players and fans alike stood in shock trying to comprehend how Harvard could have lost a marathon game they thoroughly dominated. The scoreboard read 2-1, but might have easily been 7-1 in favor of the loser.
"A day like this...what can you do? I wouldn't change anything; I wouldn't do anything differently," Harvard coach Tim Wheaton said.