Junior forward Melanie Baskind, shown here in earlier action, led her team with four shots—three of which were on goal—but her efforts were not nearly enough to keep the Crimson from falling to BU, 3-0, yesterday afternoon at Ohiri Field. The loss dropped Harvard to a record of 1-3-1 on the season. The squad will look to bounce back tomorrow as it hosts Rhode Island at the Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium under the lights.

After dropping its last two matches, the Harvard women’s soccer team looked for a win against Boston University (4-5-0) yesterday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the third time was not the charm, as it was defeated, 3-0, by the visiting Terriers.

Despite several solid goal attempts, Harvard was shut out by the combined goalkeeping powers of freshman Kelly King and junior Alice Binns.

The Crimson opened the game with a promising start: firing off a shot just 12 seconds after the initial whistle.

Other close goal attempts were made by captain Katherine Sheeleigh, junior Melanie Baskind, and sophomore Alexandra Conigliaro inside the box, but each chance was spoiled by King.

BU forcefully responded in the 20th minute, as junior Jessica Luscinski took advantage of a pass from teammate Shauna Kelleher and slipped one past Crimson goalie Jessica Wright.

Wright, a freshman, recorded seven saves on the game and her first collegiate start.

“We started out doing some good things,” coach Ray Leone said. “It just wasn’t going in for us.”

The loss comes off the heels of a tough weekend for Harvard, which fell to Central and South Florida, 3-0 and 2-1, respectively.

With a 1-3-1 record as conference play approaches, the Crimson is looking for a change in momentum.

“It’s frustrating,” Baskind said. “It’s becoming a bit of a habit for us to start out weaker and improve as the season goes on.”

During the 2009 season, Harvard had been on a four-game losing streak, including a 1-0 loss at Boston University, before exploding onto the Ivy League scene with six straight wins and eventually, an Ivy League title.

Still, it doesn’t make the loss yesterday any easier.

Although Harvard stayed even with the Terriers on corner kicks, both earning six, BU had a 22-16 shot advantage over the Crimson.

In addition to the opening goal by Luscinski, the Terriers were able to put two more shots in the back of the net.