Hawk junior Sandra Kayulu also hit the post one the minute later.
The backs prevented junior goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther from having to make any more than four saves on the day. None of those stops was bigger than her save when Lyng had an open shot on net from just inside the 18 in the third overtime session.
“[Lyng’s shot] actually looked tougher than it was,” Gunther said. “It was a rocket, but it was pretty close to me thankfully. The defenders were right on her tail, so she didn’t have much time.”
Just as in her last game against Hartford, Gunther didn’t back down when the Hawks collided with her out of the net, with sophomore Jeanette Akerlund being a repeat offender. Gunther always hurt them more than they hurt her.
As in the last game with Hartford, the Hawks had players go down with injury on several occasions. Before the end, they had lost Kayulu, the America East Player of the Year, and Malin Engman, the America East Rookie of the Year.
Lyng’s shot on goal was one of few scoring opportunities that the Hawks had put together since halftime. The Crimson, thanks largely to its fitness and its rounds of substitutions, managed to control the ball for the bulk of the overtimes.
“I think the way Tim was subbing was ideal for the forwards because this is a game where we were going to have to work the hardest,” Totman said. “I think every time he made a sub it picked the level up even more, so it was very effective.”
Harvard kept Yenne and freshman Emily Colvin on the bench to start the game, and cycled them in for co-captain Caitlin Costello and Totman.
“We felt like we had the players to do it and we wanted to do it,” Wheaton said. “Especially as the game goes along, fresh legs make a difference. And they’re all talented. I don’t think there was a noticeable difference between the different players on the field.”
In all, the Crimson had only two shots on goal, but several scoring opportunities. Colvin, for one, nearly broke free on more than one occasion.
One of the Crimson’s best chances came with 15 seconds left in the first overtime, when sophomore midfielder Katie Hodel forced a throw-in deep in Hartford territory and then threw the ball to Westfall with space in the box. She sent the ball to Yenne, but neither of them had really controlled the ball, and Yenne volleyed it over the net.
Harvard had struggled to finish through the final six games of the season, when it went just 2-4. But its defense kept the team in the game long enough to finally get the golden goal. Including its 1-0 overtime loss to UConn on Oct. 24, the Crimson had clocked over four hours of playing time at Morrone Stadium before finally scoring.
The Crimson earned the right to a rematch with UConn, who coasted over Sacred Heart, 3-0, earlier yesterday afternoon.
Harvard will have to recover quickly from the physical drain of yesterday’s game, but Wheaton is confident in the team’s fitness. He expects that the taste of victory last night has left the Crimson wanting more.
“I think there’s an emotional side to it too which, I think is in our favor,” Wheaton said. “We left the field, going, ‘Let’s go, let’s play more.’ And we’re ready for it.”