“We weren’t intimidated by their national standing,” said sophomore midfielder Katie Westfall. “We realized that they were coming onto our field, and we pulled together. In practice we prepared for their formations, and it paid off.”

The start of the second half caught the Crimson back on their heels. Coming out flat from the break, the Crimson lost its aggressiveness and reacted slowly to the ball.

The Golden Eagles began to put pressure on the goal, and Harvard’s defense was lucky to avert several close calls cleared right in front of the line. The Crimson also benefitted from some inaccurate shots by Marquette early in the second half.

But the string of shutouts for Harvard’s defense was broken in the 67th minute. Fouled in the box by sophomore defender Caitlin Fisher, Jensen was awarded the penalty kick. She faked right and beat Gunther with a hard drive to the bottom left of the net to tie the score at 1-1.

The goal was the first the Crimson has allowed since its opening 5-4 loss to Colorado State.

“We’ve worked hard to sort out the defense,” Wheaton said. “The only goal we’ve allowed in the past five games has been on a penalty shot. We knew that we were going to fight battles, and that’s why we play.”

Barber, who has started every game for the Crimson, has become a fixture in a young backfield. She played a crucial role during the scoreless streak and now has three points on the year.

This win against the Conference USA favorite Marquette was critical for a Harvard team looking to break back into the standings for the first time following the Colorado loss. Currently ranked third in the Northeast region, Harvard plays at BC on Wednesday at 3 p.m. for an important regional match-up.