But Penn senior Erin Brennan pushed the Quakers’ lead back to five after finishing a pass from Poplawski with 12:22 to go.

Harvard sophomores Chelsey Newman and Kyleigh Keating closed the gap to 8-5 with a pair of scores in the final 10 minutes, but that was as close as the Crimson got.

“We had a couple of posts and some crucial turnovers in the midfield, but we didn’t give up until the end,” Baskind said. “I don’t think the score indicates how close it was.”

In addition to outshooting Penn 27-16, the Crimson had fewer turnovers and was perfect in clearing attempts (12-for-12).

The Crimson finishes the year at 9-7 overall, its seven losses coming to ranked opponents.

Despite starting conference play with a pair of losses, Harvard managed to end the regular season on a high note and to secure its second straight Ivy League Tournament berth.

But unlike last season—in which the Crimson fell in the championship game—Harvard returned to Cambridge after the opening round.

“I think our coach summed it pretty well,” Baskind said. “It’s a disappointing loss to a season we turned around. We were playing very strongly at the end. It was a good season, but it was a disappointing loss. We weren’t ready to stop playing.”

—Staff writer Cameron Dowd can be reached at camerondowd14@college.harvard.edu.