Sophomore Melanie Baskind put a sweet taste in Harvard’s mouth when she scored the go-ahead goal late in the second half. The score came off an assist from junior Katherine Sheeleigh. The big win over Yale keeps Harvard in first place with an undefeated Ivy League record. The Crimson will return to action next Saturday at home against Princeton.

With ten minutes left in yesterday’s Harvard-Yale women’s soccer game, the Bulldogs snuck a shot past senior goalkeeper Lauren Mann.

But, right before the ball crossed the goal line, Crimson junior defender Katie Kuzma made a crucial sliding stop. The play helped secure Harvard’s (7-5-1, 4-0 Ivy) exciting 3-2 victory over Yale (8-5, 3-1 Ivy). The win in New Haven also maintained the Crimson’s perfect league record.

“It’s one of the top ten games I’ve ever seen,” Harvard Coach Ray Leone said after the match.

That is not a small accomplishment considering Leone has coached at the collegiate level since 1986.

The players agreed with their coach’s excitement.

“It was a great game—a typical Harvard-Yale game,” senior co-captain Lizzy Nichols said.

The Crimson started the game strong, opening with a goal 29 minutes into the first half.

Junior co-captain Gina Wideroff scored for the second time this season off a long pass from Kuzma, who was able to bypass the Bulldogs’ back line with the ball. Harvard kept the Yale defense on its toes, recording four shots in the half—all on goal.

Going into the break, the Crimson felt good about its play.

“I think we had a really good first half,” Nichols said. “We got a goal early that let us feel good going into halftime with some confidence and the momentum.”

At the start of the second half, the Bulldogs came out with powerful play and established a lead barely ten minutes into the period.

“We looked stronger in the first half,” Leone said. “But [Yale] responded and dominated for a long time in the second half.”

Bulldogs’ forward Miyuki Hino scored off a header to tie the game, and her teammate Becky Brown put away a loose ball to give Yale a 2-1 edge with 38 minutes remaining.

But Harvard did not let its opponent get too far ahead.

“We bent, but we didn’t break,” Leone said.