Sophomore attacker Shayna Prince capped off the period with a score with 1:30 remaining in the first frame to put Harvard up 2-0.
The Crimson held the Bears scoreless through the first period with a stingy defensive effort from freshman goalkeeper Arial Dukes.
In the second period, Brown ramped up its defensive effort, forcing several Harvard turnovers to hold the Crimson scoreless for six minutes and tie up the score, 2-2.
Harvard responded with two goals of its own to end the second period and headed into halftime with a 4-2 advantage.
On offense, both teams struggled early in the third frame with their set offensive formations, appearing stagnant and unable to penetrate.
"When we moved, we looked good, and we got scoring opportunities," Minnis said. "When we sat and played into their soft press, I think that played to their advantage.
"They shot block very well," he added. "They want you to shoot from outside. That movement was key for us."
On several instances, both teams were able to get the ball out ahead of the defense on counter-attack plays but either turned the ball over or botched attempts to score.
At end the third period, Kennifer looked to shoot on an uncontested drive toward the mouth of the goal but fumbled with the ball.
Fortunately for Harvard, she was able to tip it toward junior two-meter defender Elyse Molnar who scored to put Harvard up, 5-3.
With 4:29 remaining in the fourth period, Kennifer was able to capitalize to put the Crimson up 6-3.
Less than a minute later, Zdrojewski helped to pad the Harvard lead with a goal of her own, putting the Crimson up, 7-3.
The Bears attempted to spark a late comeback with a goal with 2:42 remaining in the final period to put Brown up, 7-4.
As the time began to run out, the Bears started to speed up their possessions and look for opportunities to score quickly.
Harvard was able to stymie the Brown comeback attempt and put the Bears away for good after a last-second Brown shot with 38 seconds remaining in the game.
Shayna Price paced the Crimson with two goals, three assists, and five steals.
Dukes anchored Harvard’s defensive effort with 13 saves.