The freshman demonstrated confidence by dribbling down the right flank several times to get a couple of shots off and cross the ball into the box.
“The kid wants to win,” Leone said. “She saw her moment and she went for it. That’s it; the timing was right.”
With 32:52 left in the second period, Casscells-Hamby slipped a through ball to Baskind, who did not hesitate to put the ball in the right back corner of the net.
A similar play put Elon on the scoreboard. Krauss received a well-timed pass from Catherine Brinkman and imitated Baskind in sending a low shot past rookie goaltender Bethany Kanten with 7:54 left to play.
Baskind responded right away, dribbling the ball straight at the Elon defense and mustering a shot on goal. Another attempt by Baskind with 3:29 on the clock was too strong for the goaltender to wrap up, and Weisman took advantage of the deflected shot to give Harvard the victory.
LONG ISLAND 2, HARVARD 1
The Crimson’s close win came after an equally close loss against Long Island University on Friday.
“It was a great game, played really fast,” Leone said. “The only bad part about the game was the result. We really played hard; so did LIU. They just got two goals, and we got one.”
LIU scored first on Jen Spicer’s shot in the 27th minute that got past junior goalkeeper AJ Millet, who made her first appearance for Harvard since a season-ending injury last year.
The Blackbirds continued to hold onto a one-goal lead until the middle of the second half when Crimson sophomore Peyton Johnson slammed a pass from Casscells-Hamby into the net. The rookie recorded a game-high five attempted shots in addition to the assist.
“[LIU] was a big physical team, but we were able to possess and really play our game,” co-captain Lindsey Kowal said. “It’s a great indication of where our season is going to end up.”
But while Harvard recorded seven more shots on goal than the Blackbirds in the second half, LIU notched the win thanks to junior Ruby Leon’s accuracy against Kanten.
“It’s always hard playing as a fall start,” Baskind said. “We don’t know each other yet, meeting people, trying to make things happen on the field, but it’s going pretty smoothly. We’re creating a ton of chances, which is really nice for this early in the season. We’re getting there—we just need to put the ball in the back of the goal.”
—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Alex Sopko can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.