This final weekend of action before the beginning of conference play was an opportunity for Harvard to tune-up one last time as the squad prepares to host Yale next Friday. But both games against Northeastern (4-2) and UMass (4-3) ended in disappointment for the Crimson (2-4).

Harvard was within striking distance in both games, but failed to close out the matches in the end. Against Northeastern, the Crimson’s furious rally was not enough to overcome its first-half deficit. In contrast, Harvard fell flat against the Minutewomen after an early second half equalizer by senior forward Marissa Balleza.

UMASS 3, HARVARD 1

The Crimson came out fighting against Massachusetts in Amherst, ready to get back on a winning streak. The game was deadlocked until the 30th minute when UMass junior defender Melanie Kreusch scored off of a penalty stroke.

After the second half commenced, senior forward Marissa Balleza continued her torrid scoring by stealing the ball in the UMass defensive zone and maneuvering around the goalkeeper to score her fourth goal of the season. She is now only five goals away from the all-time career mark, set by Judy Collins ’99 at 43, with eleven games to go until the season ends.

“From the beginning of the season, I knew that Marissa was going to be a leader in our front field,” said coach Tjerk van Herwaarden. “Her skill set, her determination to go to goal, and the ability to finish on goal sets a great example for our younger players.”

The Minutewomen responded ten minutes later with two quick goals by junior midfielder Sarah Hawkshaw and Melanie Kreusch, her second of the game. The Crimson could not come back from that deficit, and ended up winless on the weekend.

“Marissa had a great goal and if we finished a bit more we could have come back,” said co-captain Sarah Finnemore. “Overall, I think played pretty strongly. We just have a few things that we need to work on to get the outcome that we want.”

NORTHEASTERN 4, HARVARD 3

Harvard and Northeastern battled until the end of regulation on a blustery Friday evening at Berylson Family Field Hockey Field, but the Huskies hung on despite a furious late rally by the Crimson.

“I don’t think we eventually got what we deserved to get,” said van Herwaarden. “It’s sometimes part of the sport. I think we actually did very well. The team worked really hard.”

Northeastern struck early twice to give them a commanding advantage over Harvard.

Harvard climbed back into the contest briefly with a 24th minute goal by senior midfielder Abbey Thornhill. But Northeastern owned the first half. They closed with a 29th minute goal by junior forward Jamie Bartucca, who displayed great skill maneuvering around several Harvard defenders, leading to a second-chance goal off a rebound.

Senior forward Marissa Balleza ignited a second half Harvard rally with a diving lunge to net the ball in the 41st minute. The Crimson put on an immense amount of pressure down the stretch, controlling possession and outshooting the Huskies 11-3 in the second half.

“We need to get more return on the investment,” said van Herwaarden. “I mean, we do a lot of hard work, we had a couple of really good opportunities, and we have to be a little bit sharper. Also, we have to play tougher on the rebounds.”

A second goal seemed to seal Northeastern’s victory, but a late goal by Harvard in the 68th minute set up a frenzied couple final minutes. Two final opportunities off penalty corners gave Harvard the chance to complete the comeback, but a shot flew just over the backboard to end the game.

“Just the effort that was put in, especially by a lot of the younger players, shows you how much potential this team has and how much we can do,” said captain Kyla Cordrey. “Maybe it was a wakeup call to lose this game, but I think we have to put it behind us and move forward….We still haven’t hit Ivy’s yet.”