Junior Melanie Baskind, shown here in earlier action, scored three goals over the weekend. Baskind found the back of the net twice in Harvard’s Ivy opener against Penn on Friday, but it wasn’t enough, as the Crimson fell, 4-3.

After a slow start so far this season, the Harvard women’s soccer team may have found the spark it needs heading into the heart of Ivy League play.

Riding three early scores and a strong performance from freshman goalkeeper Jessica Wright, the Crimson (3-4-1, 0-1 Ivy) snapped a string of losses, coming away with a 3-2 win on the road yesterday against University of Massachusetts (3-6) at Rudd Field.

“I think it was a really good win for us at a crucial part of our season,” co-captain Katherine Sheeleigh said. “I think a lot of things came together today. We’re just going to try to build on them.”

Junior Melanie Baskind scored the critical goal for Harvard late in the first, breaking a 2-2 tie and setting up Wright and the Crimson defense to preserve the victory—only Harvard’s second in its last six games.

UMass attempted four shots on goal in the second half, but Wright—filling in for injured sophomore AJ Millet—deflected them all.

“[Wright] was put in a tight spot,” Baskind said. “She’s stepping up. She’s in there, and she’s confident. She’s filling the hole for us and doing her best, and we’re behind her.”

“She had a really good second half,” Sheeleigh echoed. “I think the relationship with [Wright] and the back line is getting stronger.”

While Wright’s play in net and Harvard’s defense was the story of the second half, offense was not lacking for either team in the first.

The Crimson got off to a hot start, notching two scores in the first 10 minutes to take the early lead.

Harvard failed to capitalize on its first scoring opportunity—a corner kick less than two minutes into the contest—but the team was not denied for much longer.

Sheeleigh found the back of the net in the ninth minute, and freshman Peyton Johnson followed suit just one minute later, giving the visitors the commanding 2-0 lead.

Sheeleigh opened the scoring with her fourth tally of the season, taking a pass from Baskind inside the box and then beating Minutewoman keeper Emily Cota.

Johnson scored Harvard’s second goal without any assistance, firing a shot from 15 yards out that found the bottom left corner of the goal.

But the Crimson’s 2-0 lead proved to be insecure.

After UMass’s first six shot attempts were off their mark, the Minutewomen began to light up the scoreboard.