"Coming into the second half we were looking for Armando to spray some balls and settle us down a little bit," Harvard coach Steve Locker said.
The Hartford defenders appeared wary of Petruccelli's dribbling skill, hanging back unsure of where he would direct the ball next.
Petruccelli skillfully handled the team's offense from midfield. Only four minutes after Petruccelli entered the game, he found an open McLaughlin on the left wing. McLaughlin streaked up the left side of the field, forcing Hickey to come out and block his shot. The play was vintage Harvard men's soccer.
However, just as things were beginning to look promising for Harvard, sophomore defender Andrew Lundquist tried to prevent a breakaway by grabbing the jersey of a Hartford forward. Lundquist was given a red card and the team was forced to play the rest of the game a man down.
It was a physical game that was tightly reffed and penalty-marred from beginning to end, with five yellow cards awarded in addition to Lundquist's red.
Undermanned but not undeterred, Harvard found the back of the net in the 76th minute of play. Kohler lofted a corner kick in front of the goal for a group of waiting Harvard attackers. Senior Rich Wilmot, positioned at the near post, headed the ball across the mouth of the goal to sophomore Lee Williams. Williams headed the ball into the upper left hand corner of the net, sending the game into overtime tied 1-1.
In the extra periods, Harvard would once again find itself trying to come from behind. Jachym faked around a Harvard defender and shot the ball into the lower left hand corner to score his second goal of the day. One minute and 38 seconds later, Jachym completed his hat trick with a similarly styled goal.
Harvard found itself tired, two goals down and a man down after less than five minutes of overtime play.
The Crimson would come to within one goal of the Hawks after freshman Alan Bengtzen scored in the second overtime period. Bengtzen angled the ball off a Hartford defender and past Hickey.
With one minute left in the second overtime, there was a flurry of shots from the Crimson, including one from Dupuis, as all the team's players crowded the penalty area.
But it was not to be. The final seconds of the Crimson's season ticked away on Ohiri Field, and not at Richmond. Even after 120 minutes of play, no one expected it to end so soon.