Junior Melanie Baskind scored two goals to help the Harvard women’s soccer team defeat Fairfield, 3-1, in its final game of the season. Coming out of halftime tied 1-1, the Crimson put the game away with an offensive surge led by Baskind and a defensive shutdown from sophomore goalkeeper AJ Millet. With the win, Harvard finishes its season with a 9-7-1 record.

It was a busy day for the Harvard women’s soccer team.

Less than 12 hours after Crimson co-captain Katherine Sheeleigh was announced as the 2010 Ivy League Player of the Year, Harvard (9-7-1, 4-3 Ivy) traveled to Fairfield, Conn., to conclude its season in a non-conference matchup with Fairfield (8-9-3, 4-3-2 MAAC) last night at Lessing Field.

And when the Crimson arrived, the good times kept rolling.

Harvard closed out its season with a 3-1 victory, its fourth win in its last five contests.

“It was one of the best days that I’ve had in a while,” Sheeleigh said. “To go out with the win was just so fun. It was really special.”

The Crimson, which entered halftime tied, 1-1, with the Stags, relied on a second-half surge led by junior Melanie Baskind’s two goals to pull out the win.

“I think it was a lot of energy [that accounted for the strong second half],” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “We really truly played like it was the last 45 minutes of the season.”

In the match’s opening minutes, it didn’t look like Harvard would need a late rally to pull out the win.

The visitors got on the board early, jumping out to a 1-0 lead just eight minutes into the contest, thanks to a score from freshman Elizabeth Weisman. The forward notched her first career goal, taking a pass from Sheeleigh in front of the cage and then booting the ball over the head of Fairfield goalie Kelly Boudreau.

Sheeleigh—who became the sixth player in Harvard history to take home the honor of the conference’s top player—was credited with her team-leading seventh assist on the year.

But the home team fought its way back into the contest.

Just 13 minutes later, the Stags called on their own freshman to even the score. Midfielder Nikko Stanton tallied her first career goal, heading a ball past Crimson freshman goalkeeper Jessica Wright in the 21st minute.

Fairfield kept the pressure up for the remainer of the half, outshooting Harvard, 2-0, heading into the break.

But after being held without a shot over the final 37:44 of the first half, the Crimson came out on a tear to start the second, registering three shot attempts and two shots on goal in the first six minutes.

“[In the second half] I think we really committed to win the game,” Sheeleigh said. “We just knew there was no way we we’re going to lose this game.”