In the end, it wasn’t Harvard’s first-half deficit that was disappointing for the team, but rather its inability to continue playing at a high level in the second half.

“In the second half, fitness got us a little bit, and I thought Boston College increased their level of play and actually had the better of the play,” Junot said.

Junot was not left searching for answers after the loss.

“If there was a primary factor that changed the game, it was fitness for us,” said Junot, who believes that health and fitness problems prevented the Crimson from maintaining its first-half play later in the game.

This is nothing new for Harvard, which hopes to build on the positives from the loss against the Eagles before it resumes Ivy League play against Brown on Saturday.

“I thought we played a good first half,” Rogers said. “But as has been our problem the whole year, we didn’t put a full 90-minute performance in.”

The game has likely reinforced a valuable lesson for the Crimson: consistent play throughout the game is crucial to the team’s success.

“This was just a momentum game,” Rogers said. “We know our season will be decided by the Ivy League [games], but we can take what we did in the first half against one of the top teams in the country, that we can go blow for blow with them.”

The game also drew attention to an issue that has plagued Harvard all season, but once solved, will allow the Crimson to enjoy the success it briefly had a glimpse of during the first half on Tuesday.

“If we can improve on our fitness, we’re good enough to stay in contention with any team in the country,” Rogers said.