Senior NATALIA BERRY (9) tries to gain possession of the ball during the Crimson's 2-1 loss to Michigan on Sunday.

The Harvard field hockey team hoped to prove that it could beat the best teams in the country at Ann Arbor, Michigan this weekend.

The Crimson almost pulled it off.

Thanks largely to the All-American caliber goalkeeping of sophomore Katie Zacarian, Harvard (4-4, 2-0 Ivy) took No. 3 Michigan (10-2) to overtime on Sunday afternoon and came a goalpost’s width away from stealing the game in regulation. But Michigan senior Catherine Foreman, a back from Australia, beat Zacarian from the top of the circle just two minutes into 7-on-7 play to lift the Wolverines to a 2-1 victory.

The Crimson fell 2-0 to No. 7 Michigan State (9-4) at neutral Ann Arbor on the preceding afternoon as the Spartans twice capitalized on penalty corners early in the first half. Though Harvard made NCAAs a year ago and the Spartans did not, Michigan State emerged as a title contender this past August with wins over defending national champion Old Dominion and ACC power Wake Forest, Harvard’s NCAA nemesis last season.

“[Michigan and Michigan State] are the strongest teams we’ve played,” said Harvard Coach Sue Caples. “We hadn’t played any games [this season] to prepare us for this level. This weekend sets us up for what’s coming next. The growth between just those two games was exciting.”

The parity of the weekend games was encouraging for the Crimson as it prepares for tomorrow’s game at No. 15 Northeastern, New England’s top-ranked team, and the resumption of the Ivy schedule on Saturday at Cornell, Harvard’s last Ivy opponent before it welcomes seven-time defending Ivy champion No. 5 Princeton to its home turf a week later.

“The only difference [between us and the Michigan teams] is the little things,” said senior forward Eliza Dick, an Ann Arbor native who scored against a former high school teammate in her homecoming. “We’re right up there with them in speed. We definitely know we can play with the top teams.”

Michigan 2, Harvard 1 (OT)

The Wolverines dominated the Crimson statistically in shots (21-4), penalty corners (9-0) and even penalty strokes (2-0), yet they still found themselves tied with Harvard at the end of regulation. Zacarian and Michigan goalkeeper Maureen Tasch—a former high school teammate of Dick, Harvard senior back Katie Turck, and Harvard sophomore back Diana Bowen at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor—kept the game scoreless after the teams traded goals in opening 11 minutes.

“Zacarian was awesome, she kept us in the game,” Dick said. “She attacked the balls. She came out defended her circle. She was like a field player out there.”

Foreman finally beat Zacarian for the game-winner from the top of the circle in the 72nd minute. Foreman said she was fortunate to have made the shot as Zacarian was in mid-step coming out of the net. Zacarian was unable to extend her right foot in time.

“I wasn’t really thinking,” Foreman said. “I just came into the circle and I wanted to shoot since the defender wasn’t really coming towards me. I took the shot and hoped it went okay, just looking for a rebound. I just got lucky and it went in.”

Harvard’s best chance to win the game came with under two minutes left in regulation as Tasch came out to her right and missed the ball coming across the goal. Sophomore forward Mina Pell, the Crimson’s leading scorer on the season, had a chance at the open net from a difficult angle, but her shot deflected off the far goalpost out of danger.

“We had our chances against Michigan and Michigan State, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the box,” Caples said. “We learned a lot about our strengths and weaknesses this weekend.”

Tasch had a relatively easy day in goal. She only needed two saves on the day to earn the win, in contrast to nine saves for Zacarian. The Wolverines had anticipated the challenge of beating the accredited Crimson keeper.