Strong midfield play by Harvard barely permitted the Minutewomen possession of the ball in the first half.

While UMass tallied 13 turnovers in the half to the Crimson’s 10, the statistics do not relate the fact that Harvard’s ability to steal possession left the Minutewomen all but unable to set up an attack for the first half.

“The team really shined with team defense on the midfield,” Sproul said.

The Crimson began the second half in possession of a five-goal margin that the team maintained until the final whistle.

UMass answered all of Harvard’s goals, but the Crimson did not permit the Minutewomen to rally.

Belitsos scored four of Harvard’s second-half tallies, and Hines made the assist on three. Sproul snagged a goal of her own with 6:47 left on an assist from Curtis.

Though the game was all but sealed by the second half, UMass freshman attack Kathleen Typadis posed the greatest threat to the Crimson, notching four goals in the half, three of them unassisted.

UMass junior goaltender Lauren McCarthy tightened up as well, making five saves in the second half after making three in the first.

Harvard sophomore goaltender Kathryn Tylander also made a total of eight saves in her hour in front of the net.

The Crimson’s strength in the midfield eased the job of the team’s defense, which nevertheless generally stopped set attacks.

The Minutewomen had more success with occasional fast breaks than with controlled, paced play.

“UMass didn’t have the ball a lot, so you couldn’t see the defense at our best,” Sproul said.

Harvard had expected UMass to field a tight defense, but penalty statistics suggest that the Crimson had the edge in aggression. Harvard was given five of the game’s six yellow cards, with Schoen taking two.

“I guess we were all really excited to play and we were aggressive all over the field,” Sproul said. “I guess sometimes we were being a little aggressive, but it never got out of control.”

—Staff writer Samuel C. Scott can be reached at sscott@fas.harvard.edu.