A lack of whistles on the day allowed fights for loose balls to be extremely physical. Sophomore midfielder Caitlin Fisher was among Harvard's best at winning the midfield battles. She succeeded in getting a number of serves downfield that had potential, but ultimately never amounted to anything.

Sophomore forward Joey Yenne pulled out all her stops in trying to maneuver through the UConn defense--at one point taking on three players deep in the Huskie zone--but she was unable to get a clear look at the net all day.

"I think they had a lot of numbers in behind," Wheaton said. "We need to play a little more simply. One of the things that happens when you feel like you're behind and you feel like you need to grab a goal, people try to do a little more, instead of just playing simply."

In the final minutes of the game, UConn solidly executed a prevent defense, kicking the ball out every time it faced pressure in midfield and then watching the seconds tick of the clock. Harvard could only watch in the end.

"I think it's just the little edge that makes the difference," Wheaton said. "We're disappointed to lose that one, but we've got a bunch of good ones ahead of us."

The Crimson's next game is a crucial Ivy matchup against No. 21 Dartmouth (10-3, 3-1 Ivy), who is also ranked second in the Northeast Region.

"Dartmouth's a great team," Wheaton said. "It's certainly our focus because it's the Ivy League."

With a win over Dartmouth, the Crimson would be in secure position to take a share of the league crown with its only remaining Ivy game against last-place Columbia (4-8-2, 0-5).