The Crimson was left behind by the Eagles after a tight battle, as No. 12 Boston College (11-5, 1-3 ACC) leapt ahead with two quick goals in the first five minutes of the second half, surging to a narrow 3-2 victory over Harvard (8-5, 3-1 Ivy).

Throughout the match, the Crimson fought neck-and-neck with the nationallly-ranked foe. Down 1-0 until five minutes before halftime, Harvard was able to draw even with the Eagles, as freshman starting forward Maggie McVeigh, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week, sent a pass in from just outside the circle to junior Kayla Romanelli. The forward forced the ball past the Eagles defenders into the right corner of BC goalie Julia Berkowitz’s net.

McVeigh’s goal continues an offensive hot streak as her early goal against Yale last Saturday propelled the Crimson into the lead up until late in the second half.

Under the lights last night, Romanelli’s goal against Boston College marked her third of the season. Her previous two goals were enough to contribute to Crimson victories against Penn and Pacific last month.

“BC is a good team and we went out hard both halves, as hard as we could,” Romanelli said.

The Romanelli-McVeigh connection has proved to be an effective one this season, as both of Romanelli’s previous goals were scored on a McVeigh assist.

“Kayla and I have played forward all season together and we tend to connect well and work well with each other,” McVeigh said.

The Eagle offense out-shot the Crimson, 13-7, while challenging Harvard’s junior goalkeeper Kylie Stone to make four saves.

A series of intercepted passes by the Crimson marked the first half of play, but McVeigh led an impressive breakaway across the field, passing to the left where sophomore Elizabeth Goodman-Bacon stood ready. An Eagles defender swooped in to intercept the pass right before the circle and carried the ball back to the offensive end, but missed a shot that spiraled just outside the left post.

Boston College’s Katie Quaglia continued the Eagle attack as she shot a ball from the middle that sailed into the upper right corner of the net, giving Boston College the early 1-0 lead halfway into the first period.

As the clock wound down in the first half, Romanelli’s tying goal came within five minutes of the buzzer. The Crimson’s equalizer was short-lived as the Eagles’ Chelsea Feole scored two quick goals less than two minutes into the second half, establishing a 3-1 lead. Despite a successful penalty shot into the right corner by co-captain Devon Shapiro, bringing the score to 3-2, it was not enough to overcome Boston College.

“BC’s a great opponent, a great team and I think we battled hard, but it was not good enough,” head coach Sue Caples said.

This Saturday, Harvard returns to Jordan Field in an Ivy League match-up against league leader Princeton. Both teams look to defend their one-loss league records.

“We can step up for a very important game, for both teams, on Saturday that will keep us in the hunt,” Caples said. “We’ll be ready to play on Saturday.”