The Bears scored first in the second half, as Abby Bunting beat freshman goalkeeper Kelly Weiss (three saves, eight goals allowed) to bring the Bears to within four.
But the contest was never closer than that again. Harvard responded with an 8-1 run fueled by scores from five different players to take a 13-5 lead. With the game out of reach, the Bears found the net three times in the final four minutes.
“This is a great Ivy win, and I think it builds confidence for us,” VanderMeulen said. “We have Holy Cross on Wednesday, but then we have Princeton next Saturday, so this is a great platform to build off of for the rest of our Ivy games.”
Baskind also noted the significance of the win going forward in Ivy League play.
“We’re building expectations for ourselves,” Baskind said. “We play a hard schedule for a reason, and we are looking forward from here on out.”
With the win, Harvard took sole possession of fifth place in the Ancient Eight standings. The Crimson will need a top-four finish to earn a berth in the postseason Ivy League tournament.