When she arrived in Cambridge two and a half years ago, junior Liza Ryabkina was taken under the wing of Sarah Vaillancourt ’08-’09, one of the most talented forwards to wear a Harvard uniform.

So it was fitting that last night, Ryabkina followed in her mentor’s footsteps, becoming the first Crimson player to score four goals in a game since Vaillancourt did it last February at Cornell.

“It felt pretty incredible,” Ryabkina said. “I was just sort of taking the opportunities [that] presented themselves. I know that I can do those things in practice, so I just did them in the game.”

The winger opened scoring with less than two minutes left in the second period, slamming home a pass from senior Anna McDonald on the power play to hand Harvard the momentum heading into the break.

And from there, everything clicked for Ryabkina.

“My favorite play of the game was not any of her goals, but the pass she made to [freshman Kelsey Romatoski] on the power play right out in front,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said. “A lot of kids don’t see that play by the defensemen. The little things like that, that’s when you’re feeling pretty good about yourself—you’re in the zone. It’s a matter of time before things start to fall your way.”

Ryabkina hit her stride in the third period, throwing shot after shot at Boston College rookie netminder Corinne Boyles.

With 8:40 gone in the third, the junior broke through, initiating a three-goal tear in the span of five and a half minutes.

No two goals looked exactly the same: coming off a good rebound from junior linemate Kate Buesser, low on the power play, and finally on an unassisted breakaway.

“She has another gear,” Stone said. “The more she plays in that gear, the better our team’s going to be.”

Since coming back from a knee injury in November, Ryabkina has put up 15 points in 13 games—and with 10 goals on the season, she is now tied with Buesser for the team lead.

It was a career high in goals for the junior, who is making good on the raw talent she has exhibited since her freshman season.

“I wanted five,” she joked after the game. “That was my goal for the day.”

POWERED UP

Ryabkina’s two power-play goals continued a pattern of recent success for a Harvard team that has struggled with a man up all season.