HARVARD 11, GEORGE WASHINGTON 6
Hong and Hendrix replicated exactly their performances from just hours prior by scoring four goals each to help the Crimson to an 11-6 victory over George Washington (8-19).
After facing an early 1-0 deficit less than a minute in, Harvard pulled back to lead 2-1 after one quarter and never looked back.
Sophomore utility Scarlet Hallahan led the way for the Colonials with two goals. Andersen tacked on a pair on the other end of the pool to help the Crimson advance to the fifth-place game against Bucknell.
HARVARD 13, CONNECTICUT COLLEGE 3
Up against the lowest-ranked team, Harvard put on a clinic in the first half, snapping the back of the net eight times for an 8-1 halftime lead. The Crimson slowed down in the second half, running down the entire shot clock on several of its possessions, to walk away with a 13-3 victory over Connecticut College (15-9) and keep its hopes alive for a fifth-place finish.
Hong and Hendrix led the way with four goals apiece for Harvard, while in the absence of enough field-player subs, backup freshman goalie Sam Acker entered the game and tallied a goal. Sophomore Cleo Harrington made 17 stops in between the pipes.
The Camels, by virtue of being the 2016 CWPA Div III Champions, its third straight title, played into the tournament as the ninth and lowest seed.
PRINCETON 12, HARVARD 8
Harvard opened the tournament with yet another shot at breaking its 23-game losing streak to defending CWPA champion No. 17 Princeton (19-7).
The Tigers outscored the Crimson 3-2 in both of the first two quarters, taking a 6-4 halftime lead. Despite the close score, Princeton charged out of the break with a string of goals in the third to put a dent into Harvard’s hopes. Led by sophomore attacker Haley Wan’s hat trick, Princeton upped its lead to 11-5 in the fourth quarter to ice its 24th straight win over its CWPA rivals.
The Crimson tallied three straight to make it interesting in the fourth, but the Tigers held on to win, 12-8.
Andersen led Harvard with three goals, including two straight that re-energized the team in the fourth quarter, while Strutner and freshman attacker Nikki Daurio each contributed a pair.
The final minutes also featured an unusual call. A goal by Daurio with 4:17 to go in the game, which would have made the score 11-8 and kept the comeback momentum rolling, was waived off after the officials granted Princeton a timeout.
A chorus of boos was heard from the home crowd, but Minnis downplayed the issue of the Tigers not having possession when calling the timeout.
“It should’ve been a penalty for the timeout, [but] I thought it was a well-officiated game,” the sixth-year coach said. “I can’t complain about the officials at all.—Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bryan.hu@thecrimson.com.