“[Zacarian] is a fantastic goalkeeper and we recruited her as well,” said Michigan Coach Marcia Pankratz. “She’s a remarkable kid—very athletic, very tall. We knew she’d really help keep Harvard in the game and we’d have to stay persistent and patient to get the balls by her.”

Before Sunday’s game, Michigan back Stephanie Johnson had been a perfect 3-for-3 on penalty strokes. But facing the presence of Zacarian in goal, she pulled a stroke wide on two separate occasions. Opponents have failed to score on penalty strokes against Zacarian in three tries in Harvard’s last three games.

The Crimson also kept the Wolverines off the scoreboard on all nine Michigan penalty corners, despite the absence due to injury of sophomore forward Jen Ahn, the team’s primary flyer. Senior forward Heather Hussey stepped up to replace her.

Turck and senior back Natalia Berry each were credited with defensive saves in the Crimson backfield, which also featured senior back Sarah Luskin and All-Ivy junior back Katie Scott. They quieted a Wolverine attack that had beaten its four most recent unranked opponents by a combined score of 25-3.

But with Michigan constantly pressuring the Harvard defense and the Crimson failing to counter on their own end, the Crimson was destined for defeat.

“We gave them too many opportunities to score,” Caples said.

Foreman also set up Michigan’s first goal just three seconds past the five-minute mark of the first half. She passed the ball through a crowd to junior forward Molly Powers who dived and chipped the ball past Zacarian for the score. It was Powers’ sixth goal of the season and Foreman’s eighth assist.

Dick netted the equalizer five minutes later with some help from her fellow forwards. Hussey started the attack with a shot straight on Tasch. Freshman Tiffany Egnaczyk gathered the rebound and set up Dick for the finish, hardly the first time she had scored on her former high school teammate after years of practice together.

Dick now has scored three goals in her last four games, already eclipsing her scoring total from her junior season.

“We’ve just been playing together more and reading each other better,” said Dick in explanation of her scoring surge. “There have been rebounds and little dump passes. It hasn’t been me at all.”

Michigan State 2, Harvard 0

The Spartans scored in the 15th and 18th minutes of the game on penalty corners, and the defenses took control from there. Midfielder Annabet Benning, a freshman from the Netherlands scored the first goal, while Massachusetts native Maureen Halstead tallied the second.

Although neither Spartan corner was particularly well-executed, each managed to find its way into the back of the net.

“The first [corner goal] was kind of a knuckleball, off-speed,” Caples said. “The second one was tipped off beat. It was not a good one.”

Harvard was outshot 17-7 on the day. The two teams were near even on corner opportunities, as the Crimson were awarded five to the Spartans’ six.

The game was played on neutral turf at Ann Arbor. The Crimson’s first trip to Michigan in school history gave the three natives a chance to catch up.

“It’s a great sports community in Ann Arbor,” Dick said. “All the Pioneer [High School] dad’s were there. I was so surprised they came. It was fun trip.”

But besides being fun, it was a significant learning experience for the Crimson as it continues the race for its first Ivy title in 10 years. Harvard has come close to beating top ten teams on several occasions in the last two years but has yet to pull out a victory.

“We can be a very good team, but at Michigan we were just a good team,” Caples said. “We have to learn how to play at this level.”