"She did a great job," Wheaton said. "To be a freshman in your first NCAA game is nerve-racking enough, but [is even more so] when you haven't had many minutes of playing time. I was really proud of her. I thought she stepped up and did a great job today."

Fullback Lauren Cozzolino, who has quietly pieced together a tremendous rookie campaign, also starred. On one instance in the second half, Kennedy was able to break loose up the left sideline, but only to have Cozzolino chase her down and knock the ball away. Kennedy resorted to fouling Cozzolino out of exasperation.

In addition to their defensive efforts, the Harvard backs played a big role on offense yesterday as the Crimson played with one less attacker than usual due to the four-person backfield.

"I have a great deal of confidence in our backs not just as defenders but in their ability to move [the ball] forward," Wheaton said.

For the most part, the Crimson controlled the game's tempo throughout. That was evident from the start of the opening half when Mattson netted the game's first goal. In just the ninth minute, senior midfielder Meredith Stewart shuffled a pass off to sophomore midfielder Bryce Weed, who fed Mattison for the score.

The assist was Weed's first point of the season. Weed, who was a First-Team All-Ivy selection last year but has been hurt much of this fall, is getting back to the level she was at one year ago.

"I'm feeling a lot better and getting a lot stronger," Weed said. " I was really, really happy to get back out on the field. It's great to be back."

With the likes of Weed and Mattison now coming on strong to add extra punch to the Crimson's roster, Harvard will hope to upend Hartford on the road on Saturday. The Crimson has not won on the Hawks' home turf since 1996.