Although Ivy League play has just begun, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team took an important step Saturday afternoon toward securing itself a spot in the Ancient Eight tournament at season’s end.

The Crimson (3-3, 1-1 Ivy), which entered the season predicted to finish fifth in the conference standings, upended Cornell (2-4, 1-1), the team predicted to finish fourth, in a 10-4 victory at Harvard Stadium, moving the Crimson one step closer to earning one of four playoff berths.

Harvard controlled the tempo from the onset and, with strong defense, held the Big Red scoreless for the game’s first 39 minutes—allowing the home team to grab a commanding 6-0 lead.

Cornell’s offense woke up in the final period, as attacker Jessi Steinberg scored three straight goals for the Big Red in less than five minutes, but the Crimson responded by holding the visitors scoreless for the next 10 minutes.

“I think when we lose our legs a little bit, we slow down, but it’s to be expected, and they finished the game,” Harvard coach Lisa Miller said. “There was a point there where they could have been like, ‘Uh oh,’ and I don’t think they [panicked]. They finished the game, which is a good thing for us.”

Despite facing double teams throughout the contest, freshman Jennifer VanderMeulen still managed to lead the Crimson attack once again, netting three goals to push her team-leading total to 20.

“[Facing double teams] gives you more drive to go to the goal,” VanderMeulen said. “I think it’s kind of like a pride thing, where you don’t want to let someone stand you up, so you work harder to get by them.”

Classmates Danielle Tetreault and Cyr each chipped in with one goal apiece, while sophomore Tyler Petropulos added two.

Tetreault notched her team’s first goal, scoring off a free-position shot on Harvard’s first possession. After winning the match’s opening draw control, the Crimson slowed it down on offense, working the ball around the perimeter and behind its opponent’s goal. Harvard’s first two shots failed to hit their target, but Tetreault’s attempt found the back of the net.

“We’re trying to work on [slowing down the offense],” Miller said. “I think our first five games were [characterized by] youthful exuberance. It was like we would race to the cage and might not take the quality shot that you want or might generate a turnover.”

After Harvard senior goalie Katherine Martino came up with her first of eight saves in the contest on the visiting team’s first possession, the Crimson offense was back on the attack again.

This time, VanderMeulen took it herself up the middle, shooting it low past Big Red goalkeeper Kyla Dambach.

The teams traded shots over the next 10 minutes of play, but the Crimson’s aggressive defense disrupted Cornell and forced the Big Red to commit six first-half turnovers.

Co-captain Sara Flood broke the scoring drought with 8:02 left in the period, cutting across the middle and finishing a pass from sophomore Melanie Baskind. Baskind nearly recorded her second assist of the contest moments later when she found rookie Alexis Dal Col open in front of the net, but the freshman’s shot was deflected away by Dambach.

The Crimson scored twice more before the halftime buzzer sounded, courtesy of VanderMeulen and Petropulos. VanderMeulen bounced home a free position shot for her second score of the game, while Petropulos used a spin move to break down her defender and find an open path to the cage.