"Losing Totman really got us down at the beginning," co-captain Lauren Corkery said. "She was one of our top scorers last year [along with sophomore midfielder Bryce Weed] and we needed more goals this year."

Weed went down with a knee injury in the first weeks of the season.

The losses of Weed and Totman were accompanied by sophomore back Caitlin Butler's season-ending ACL tear.

The injuries meant that the offense would have to find other options quickly, and the team's resiliency would allow them to find them.

Sophomore forward Joey Yenne, Harvard's leading scorer on the season (11G, 4A), assumed the bulk of the offensive burden left in Totman's absence. Yenne came out strong, netting a hat trick in the Crimson's second game, a 7-1 route over Vermont.

"Losing such a huge part of our team like Beth [Totman] obviously makes it difficult," junior forward Caitlin Costello said. "I'm sure it put a lot of pressure on Joey, but she handled it fine."

Despite some early lapses, the Crimson was able to right itself and put together a seven-game winning streak to share the Ivy League lead. Harvard would have to defeat nationally ranked Dartmouth to keep its hopes alive.