Five minutes later, Harvard’s Zack Wolfenzon had another fantastic scoring opportunity when he turned past a defender and blasted a powerful shot on goal from the edge of the penalty box. But the Yale netminder once again proved to be one step ahead, batting the ball out of play to preserve the Bulldogs’ lead.

As time dwindled down on the scoreboard, the Crimson continued its relentless search for an equalizer by out-shooting Yale, 11-1, in the second half.

But despite Harvard’s offensive pressure, Thalman and the Bulldogs back line held on to earn the victory and to claim bragging rights in the Ivy League’s most storied rivalry.

“The biggest takeaway in this game was that we had a slow start to the first half,” junior forward Brian Rogers said. “We all have realized that in order to win Ivy League games, we cannot continue to have slow starts. We have to play with a certain level of tenacity from the beginning, and not just at the end.”

For the match, although the Crimson out-shot Yale overall, 19-7, Bulldog keeper Thalman registered eight saves to earn the shutout over the away side.

Harvard picks up action next weekend when it travels to Ithaca, N.Y., for its second Ivy League matchup.

“We are really excited to get back on the field against Cornell next weekend,” Rogers said. “The Ivy League is completely open this year, and there are no dominant teams. So with one win, we can really put our season back on track.”

—Staff writer Oluwatoni A. Campbell can be reached at oluwatoni.campbell@college.harvard.edu.