The Harvard women’s lacrosse team (8-7, 2-5 Ivy) suffered a tough 12-9 loss to No. 15 Cornell (10-5, Ivy 5-2) in its final conference game of the season on Saturday at Harvard Stadium.

“We came out really hard and ready to play,” junior Kaitlin Martin said. “But in the end Cornell is very quick athletic team. They put a couple shots away, kept possession, and stalled.”

Cornell was the first to get on the scoreboard, as seven minutes into the first half Big Red senior Noelle Dowd found the back of the net. But the Crimson answered three minutes later with a goal from sophomore Sara Flood on an assist from freshman Jess Halpern.

The rest of the first half was a hard fought back-and-forth battle. Senior Caroline Simmons had two quick back-to-back goals that gave Harvard a 3-2 lead, but then Cornell responded three minutes later with a goal from Big Red senior Katherine Simmons. Halpern and senior Tara Schoen also tallied goals in the stanza to lead Harvard to just a 7-5 deficit at halftime.

In the second half Harvard came out strong and determined. Cornell scored first to take an 8-5 lead, but the Crimson came back with two consecutive goals from Martin to bring Harvard to within one at 8-7. Martin would add Harvard’s final tally to earn herself a hat trick for the second straight game.

“She is a great player and a big powerhouse on attack and we need her to continue playing great,” Schoen said.

With only a few minutes left in the half and the Crimson down 11-9, Cornell managed to keep possession, giving Harvard limited offensive opportunities and finding a few for itself. The Big Red scored for the last time with 32 seconds left to bring the final score to 12-9.

The Crimson defense played with intensity throughout the game, fighting through exhaustion on long Cornell possessions to keep to hang tough. Sophomore Delia Pais led the defensive effort, forcing two turnovers and picking up four ground balls on the day.

“I think our defense played extremely well,” Schoen said. “The goalie [senior Kathryn Tylander] made some key saves.”

Draw controls proved to be one of the Crimson’s downfalls, as the team managed just six to Cornell’s 17.

This latest blip against the Big Red is far from the first for Harvard, which has had a tough schedule all season—Cornell is the fifth nationally-ranked team the Crimson has faced.

“I think we made a statement to all the higher-ranked teams in the Ivy League that Harvard is a team to be reckoned with,” Martin said. “Every single game that they played with us was a hard fought game.”

With the win, Cornell clinched second place in the Ancient Eight, overtaking Princeton with whom the Big Red was tied entering Saturday’s matchup. Both squads fell far short of challenging Penn, who clinched a conference title repeat by posting an undefeated, 7-0 Ivy season.

The Crimson is set to play in its last game of the regular season on Wednesday against Boston College at Harvard Stadium.

“We want to end the season on a winning note and do it especially for the seniors, who really deserve it,” Martin said.

—Staff writer Alison E. Schumer can be reached at schumer@fas.harvard.edu.