“We were a step behind [UC Irvine] in every stage of the game,” Minnis said. “They scored a majority of their goals in transition, but we managed to learn some lessons and play better in the second half. We are learning to play with top caliber teams.”
Zepfel scored a hat-trick for Harvard in his first of three high-scoring games, and sophomore attacker Joey Colton added four of his own, but it was not enough for Harvard.
HARVARD 11, SANTA CLARA 12
In the Crimson’s first game of the tournament, the team suffered a tough loss against 17th-ranked Santa Clara (3-2, 0-0), after a late spurt pushed the broncos ahead at the end.
Harvard led for a large portion of the game, and enjoyed a three-goal lead going into halftime, but could not manage to finish the game on top.
“We played a great three quarters,” Minnis said. “But we didn’t finish the game off and they ended up on top. When you’re playing against good teams and you have a lead in the fourth quarter, you sometimes play to hold on instead of attacking, and we did that.”
Lee finished with three goals in the game, and freshman utility player Harry Tafur managed to get on the board with two goals of his own.
—Staff writer Theo Levine can be reached at tlevine@college.harvard.edu.