Headed into this past weekend, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team had not defeated Princeton since Michael Keaton was still playing Batman.

But that all changed Saturday afternoon.

Behind a balanced offense and a strong defense, the Crimson (6-6, 2-3 Ivy) ended its 17-year drought against the Tigers (5-8, 3-2), preserving an early lead to come away with the 11-9 victory on Alumni Day at Harvard Stadium.

“I think we played how we know we can play all year,” said sophomore Melanie Baskind, who, along with freshman Jennifer VanderMeulen, had a team-high three goals. “It’s really nice just to put it together and beat a big-time team like that. You can see us building and getting better each game.”

Despite falling behind in the contest’s opening minutes, the Crimson rebounded, going on a 6-2 run to finish the half. Harvard’s lead ballooned to as many as five points early in the second frame thanks to a score from freshman Danielle Tetreault, but a late rally got Princeton within two with less than a minute remaining. Thanks to some defensive stops in the final seconds, the Crimson maintained its lead when the final buzzer sounded.

While six different Crimson players finished with scores, it was Harvard’s defense that proved most impressive, as the unit forced 13 turnovers and held the Tigers to its fifth-lowest offensive output of the season.

“[The defense] played together today,” Crimson coach Lisa Miller said. “The defense took some balls away in midfield transition. We didn’t give [Princeton] what they like to do. We took away their running game, and I thought that was huge, the way the attack re-defended.”

When the Tigers did get shots off, senior goalkeeper Katherine Martino displayed her versatility in net, finishing with seven saves—including several crucial stops early on.

“She played awesome,” Baskind said. “Stepping up in big games, that’s what you want.”

While Harvard had to preserve its lead for most of the contest, it had to come from behind in the early going.

Princeton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a score from Kristin Morrison off a free-position shot less than three minutes into the contest.

Baskind knotted the score at one just 50 seconds later, capitalizing off a free-position shot of her own.

After Tigers goalie Erin Tochihara denied two solid shot attempts, freshman Nina Kucharczyk got a ball past the stingy netminder to break the tie. Kucharczyk, who recently moved to attack, looked comfortable in her new position, breaking away from her defender and shooting low for her third-career score.

But Princeton’s Jenna Davis halted the Crimson run.

Davis cut up the middle, received a pass from Maisie Devine, and finished with the goal to tie the score at two with 18:51 left.