Six minutes away from possibly the biggest win in Harvard field hockey history, the clock struck midnight on the Crimson's Cinderella season as Harvard dropped a devastating 3-2 decision to Princeton on Saturday at Jordan Field.

After Harvard (9-5, 3-2 Ivy) blew a 2-1 lead late in the game, Princeton (7-5, 4-1 Ivy) came roaring into overtime looking for the kill.

Nine minutes into the extra period, the Tigers found what they were looking for on a play that started with a menacing strike from junior forward Kellie Maul on a penalty corner.

Crimson tri-captain Anya Cowan made a spectacular diving stop on Maul's initial attempt, but junior forward Melanie Meerschwam found the rebound sitting in front and fired a bullet past a helpless Cowan.

Meerschwam's bullet all but buried the Crimson's title hopes.

Only one game back of undefeated Ivy leader No. 14 Brown (11-2, 5-0 Ivy) heading into the weekend, the Crimson desperately needed a win to keep its destiny in its own hands heading into the final game of the season at Brown Nov. 6.

With the loss, however, Harvard drops into a third-place tie with Cornell and Dartmouth, and will need a lot of help if it hopes to capture the Ivy title and the coveted berth in the NCAA tournament.

To transform the Crimson's faint title hopes into reality, Princeton needs to lose one of its last two, and Brown must utterly collapse and drop its final two matches to give Harvard a share of the title.