Yet time and again, one Crimson player or another would charge in for the kill, and time and again she was turned away.

“Their goaltender was just outstanding—tremendous,” Stone said. “She probably gave us one of the best efforts we’ve seen all season. I’m glad we won, but my heart goes out to her because to lose like that at the end is tough.”

Until that final shot, Love absolutely smothered every Harvard attempt, finishing the afternoon with 45 saves. The Crimson was unable to take advantage of its first eight power plays, dominating the Bulldog zone but coming up empty every time.

Harvard also held a shots-on-goal advantage of 46-19.

“We knew it was going to come down to the wire,” Corriero said. “We were just trying to emphasize...just taking care and finishing off every play and not trying to think one person has to win this game.”

Love’s counterpart at the Harvard end, sophomore netminder Ali Boe, had a highlight reel of her own, stopping 19 shots en route to her sixth shutout of the season.

Yale was unable to convert on any of its four power plays.

While the Crimson went only 1-for-9 on the afternoon on the man-advantage, that meager percentage was enough to reward a relentless offensive attack by Harvard—and erase an all-star effort by Love.

“It really doesn’t matter how you win,” Stone said. “We can win ugly, I don’t really care. Today was a win-ugly day and that’s OK.”

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.