“During the warmup, there was sort of a pessimistic feeling and a lack of enthusiasm and energy,” junior Jen McDavitt said. “Kate Gannon stopped us all for a minute and gave a little impromptu speech of inspiration, and we all took it to heart.”

Getting an early goal from McDavitt and two more from Maasdorp, the Crimson got its first victory over a ranked opponent.

With the wind back in its sails, Harvard shut out Dartmouth and came home for its final league game.

When the Crimson beat Columbia 2-0 and Penn knocked off Princeton 2-1, Harvard wrapped up its first Ivy title since 1991—only its third in program history.

The Crimson tied the Quakers’ 6-1 league record, but by virtue of its victory over Penn earlier in the year, Harvard was granted the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Making its fourth NCAA appearance and first since 2002, the Crimson was paired against then-No. 3 Wake Forest, the two-time defending national champs.

The Deamon Deacons were simply too much for Harvard, overpowering the Crimson 7-1.

“We built a great team and had a great run at the end,” coach Sue Caples said. “We battled hard, [and] we exceeded our expectations.”

With the first Ivy title for Harvard in 13 years, this team won’t be soon forgotten.

“There will be nothing to top the feeling of beating Columbia and sealing our Ivy League Championship,” Gannon said.

—Staff writer J. Patrick Coyne can be reached at coyne@fas.harvard.edu.