Aisha Price was the leading scorer for the Crimson with two goals.

Eight different players found the back of the cage for Stanford. Freshman Maggie Steffens, who finished with four goals, had a hat trick before the first period ended.

Despite the loss, the game against some of the nation’s best talent provided Harvard with valuable experience.

“I think we’re really improving and learning a lot from the games we’re playing,” sophomore goalie Ariel Dukes said. “It’s been a really great experience so far.”

SAN JOSE STATE 18, HARVARD 8

The Crimson took on its least formidable opponent of the three-game stretch in the Spartans—but that’s not saying much, as San Jose State (16-6) sits at number ten in the national rankings. Despite scoring eight goals, Harvard could not keep pace with the Spartans and fell by a ten-goal margin.

San Jose State came flying out of the gates, scoring six goals in the first period and seven more in the second to take a 13-2 lead at the half.

Although the halftime deficit was too much to overcome, Harvard demonstrated resilience after the break and went on to outscore the Spartans, 6-5.

“The thing about this team is that it’s a really close-knit team,” Crimson coach Ted Minnis said. “They really like each other inside and outside the pool, and they’d do anything for each other…. Whatever they’re doing they’re giving their best because they don’t want to let their teammates down.”

A trio of players provided the brunt of the scoring for San Jose State. Sophomore Victoria Smith contributed a career-high five goals to lead all scoring, and two more Spartans added hat tricks.

Sophomore Kalina Grabb, the only Harvard player with multiple goals, supplied three tallies in the second half. Grabb also posted three steals to tie for team best.

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at dsteinbach@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @BigBach12.