Shields, who made 12 saves for the day, was Harvard’s representative on the All-Tournament team.

While most of the action in the second half was on the field, there was a subplot developing on the sidelines as Yenne worked hard to recover from a high ankle sprain she sustained early second half, which she sustained when two Penn State defenders sandwiched her as she approached the 18.

Yenne finally reentered the game with just under five minutes left.

“When they scored the second goal, I said, ‘screw it, I got to get out there,’” she said.

But it was too little, too late in the end, as Harvard struggled to get the ball up to its frontrunners in the final minutes.

While the Crimson came up short this week, the closeness of this week’s game left the team eager for more of a challenge next week. In that sense, the trip to Washington to play the No. 16 Huskies and No. 17 Portland could not have come at a better time.

“I think we’re all really disappointed with the loss, but we’re really looking forward to next week. We want to win both of those games, and I think we’re very capable,” Yenne said.

Harvard 4, Central Connecticut 0

After exactly 44 minutes and 59 seconds of Harvard domination negated by missed opportunities, the Crimson’s fresh legs finally paid off.

Freshman Rebecca Mildrew entered the game in the final minutes of the first half and outran everyone on the field in getting the sophomore Emily Colvin for a clear shot in the net from the right. The ball deflected to the opposite side where freshman Sara Sedgwick finished it with the first touch of her career.

The goal came with one second left, which was allowed to tick off the clock.

The Crimson then took control in the second half, scoring two goals in the first five minutes. The first came from junior Beth Totman, who got a fortunate bounce of the post, on a shot that was set up by Westfall. The second came from Westfall herself, who found a narrow hole on the right side and hit a long shot past the Central Connecticut keeper.

The Crimson’s final goal was set up by an extra effort from junior co-captain Katie Hodel, who pressed the Central Connecticut defense, forced a turnover, and got the ball to freshman Allison Kaveney, who scored her frst career goal.

Shields made three saves in net for the shutout but was never seriously tested.