The Harvard field hockey team’s four-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at Jordan Field as the Crimson fell to No. 3 Wake Forest 3-2 this weekend.

Wake Forest (8-2) came out of the gates playing on an entirely different level than the Crimson (6-2, 3-0 Ivy), seemingly running circles around the defense. However, the Deacons’ control of the game slipped away as junior midfielder Kate McDavitt put in a penalty corner rebound to put the Crimson ahead 1-0, 11 minutes into the match.

Holding the lead against one of the nation’s elite was a moment the team had been looking forward to all season, but the Crimson could not sustain its advantage.

After the score, Harvard became even more defensive to prevent the Demon Deacons from getting into the circle. The amazing team speed of Wake Forest eventually made the difference. In the final ten minutes of the first half, the opposition’s incredible stamina provided an impossible offensive advantage, and they closed out the period with two goals, both off of penalty corners.

On each goal, Wake Forest went right with the ball to avoid the oncoming Crimson flyer and unleashed clear, forceful shots on net, with accuracy unlike the Crimson had seen all season.

“They’re a great team, and they are very quick,” junior goalkeeper Katie Zacarian said of No. 3 Wake Forest. “Now we know the type of speed of field hockey that we need to play.”

As the second half got underway, Wake Forest’s advantage on offense was not as evident. The Crimson was forced to increase its intensity to mount a chance at victory, and that is exactly what it did. Unfortunately, Wake Forest eventually wore down the Crimson, notching its third goal of the match on the 12th of 13 penalty corners for the day.

Falling behind two goals changed the outlook for the Crimson. With only nine minutes left to play, the team knew that it needed to score quickly—and somehow break through one of the nation’s top defenses—not once, but twice.

With one minute left in the game, Kate McDavitt capitalized on the goalkeeper’s mistake and flipped the ball over Wake Forest’s grounded netminder for her second goal of the game, and tenth of the season. However, it was just too little, too late for the Crimson.

Coach Sue Caples would have much rather left the field with a win, but she was very pleased with the way her team played against such a vaunted opponent. She felt that her team put together the best 70 minutes of field hockey it had all season, but that the Crimson’s lack of early defensive communication resulted in the penalty corners that led to the loss.

Though the Crimson could not defeat the Demon Deacons, it showed that it could contend with one of the best teams in the nation. Playing within one goal of the No. 3 team in the nation has made the team’s goals of unseating Princeton as Ivy champions and reaching the NCAA tournament all the more realistic.

While it is never pleasurable to suffer a loss, a rebound win against No. 11 Northeastern on Wednesday will prove to pollsters that the Crimson is a legitimate national contender. Harvard has beaten Northeastern each of the past two years, including a come-from-behind overtime victory last season.

—Contributing writer Wes Kauble can be reached at kauble@fas.harvard.edu.