To combat the problem, the team has practiced supplying more pressure to the opposition in penalty kill situations.

“We’re going to start working on a much more aggressive penalty kill,” tri-captain Liza Ryabkina said. “We’ve been pretty passive up until now.”

Another issue for the Harvard defense comes from between the pipes. After losing goaltender Christina Kessler ’10, the NCAA’s all-time leader in career save percentage, the Crimson has yet to settle on one keeper, with freshman Lauren Joarnt and sophomore Laura Bellamy splitting time in the net. Stone and her coaching staff decide who will start on a week-by-week basis—a stark contrast to the Eagles’ consistency in goal.

But Harvard has its share of strengths as well.

At times, its offense can be potent. In a three-game stretch earlier in the season, the Crimson scored 10 goals. And after Minnesota shut out Harvard in the first match of the series, the women from Cambridge showed some life at the end of the second game, scoring two goals in a 23-minute span.

Unlike the Boston College offense—for which Stack has scored twice as many goals as any other player—the Crimson has a balanced attack. Three seniors—Buesser, Ryabkina, and Katharine Chute—are tied for the most goals on the squad with four apiece.

“We’ve got plenty of weapons,” Stone said. “It’s just a matter of putting it all together.”

According to the Eagles, Harvard also has another strong point—its determination.

“They’re going to work extremely hard [on Sunday],” King said. “That’s been a common trait for Harvard teams.”

Despite these strengths, the Crimson faces an uphill battle this weekend. But even though it’s the underdog on paper, Harvard remains confident in its ability to keep close with Boston College.

“We have a great opportunity to take advantage of their high ranking,” Buesser said. “Hopefully, [we’ll] throw some pucks into the back of the net and really show what we can do out there.”