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On the first sunny Saturday afternoon of the spring lacrosse season, the No. 24 Harvard women’s team took to Jordan Field in front of a rowdy crowd to face off against the No. 6 Yale Bulldogs in an intense rivalry matchup. Despite moments of success and grit from the Crimson, the home team was unable to overcome Yale’s six-goal run in the second quarter, ultimately falling 14-9.

For Harvard (7-6, 2-4 Ivy), the game was a critical contest as the team hoped to vie for a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Now, after the loss, the Crimson does not have control of its postseason fate and will instead hope for some upset games in this upcoming week of regular-season play. Regardless of the intra-league outcomes, Harvard, set to take on the University of New Hampshire and Columbia, will strive to close out the last week of the season with two wins to bolster its chances for an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

From the opening whistle, it was clear that the game would be a good one, as both teams played fiercely. The difference ultimately proved to be control of the draw, where Yale dramatically outperformed Harvard, 23 to three, respectively. Two freshman goaltenders anchored either end of the field, with Emma Barkauskas in Crimson and Niamh Pfaff in blue. Early in the first quarter, Barkauskas came up with two huge saves on behind-the-back shots, setting the tone early for the Harvard team.

Barkauskas sent the ball upfield toward her offensive unit, where junior Charlotte Hodgson drew a shooting space call. As she was positioned awkwardly on the far right of the 8-meter, Hodgson decided not to take the shot, though she switched quickly to her left hand and fed the ball to sophomore Grace Mullahy. Mullahy ripped it towards the net, but was blocked by Pfaff, keeping the score locked in a 0-0 tie.

Two more stellar forced turnovers from Harvard’s Grace Taylor and Hattie Manser kept Yale from earning any quality scoring opportunities. Taylor and senior defender Anna Andrews both were specifically strong on the cross-crease-slides, effectively subduing any chance for the Bulldogs to ignite offensive momentum in the first quarter.

The Harvard offensive unit, much like Yale’s, was unable to convert on any of its early possessions. Captain Caroline Mullahy was fiercely double-teamed, as the Bulldogs tried to prevent her from sending any of her notoriously strong feeds into the eight. Hodgson, who has also been very productive on the attacking end this season, made a stellar drive toward the net, but the ball was poked out of her stick by a Yale defender right as she released the shot.

Finally, after the Harvard offense violated the shot clock, the Bulldogs regained possession of the ball. Yale’s senior Fallon Vaughn, a local from Concord, Mass., drew a shooting space call and converted on the shot, earning the first goal of the game. After a brief celebration, Yale won the following draw, and Vaughn repeated the sequence, ripping another free-position shot into the back of the net.

In the final few seconds of the quarter, Harvard’s Callie Batchelder made a strong statement for the Crimson, as she secured a feed from Caroline Mullahy and slammed home a behind-the-back shot. The score remained close at 2-1 at the end of the quarter.

During the second quarter of play, Mullahy sniped a beautifully threaded pass through the defenders and connected with Captain Charley Meier, who evened the score at 2-2. However, Yale, dominating in the draw circle, quickly took control of the game.

The Bulldogs, spurred by senior Sky Carrasquillo, rebounded quickly from Meier’s goal, notching one of their own and regaining the lead. After winning the draw again, Harvard’s Manser was cited with a yellow card, as the attacker that she was guarding dropped her stick mid-play. Carrasquillo, taking advantage of the woman-up opportunity, struck again. With the scoreboard now reading 4-2, Yale ramped up its offensive pressure. The Bulldogs snatched up another draw control and dished it back to Carrasquillo, who secured the hat-trick with her third consecutive goal. Then Yale’s senior Taylor Lane took control of the game, recording two goals of her own and giving the visiting team a 7-5 advantage. After another draw control, Carrasquilo scored again. The Bulldog’s six-goal rampage, enabled largely by continued success in the circle, finally came to a close. Carrasquilo, notably, scored an impressive four goals within the quarter.

Finally, Harvard’s offense was able to earn possession of the ball and looked to tally a few points of its own. The Crimson secured the draw control and got the ball to Mullahy, who took a brutal check to the body but scored a Bobby Orr-style goal on the following underhand shot.

In the following play, Grace Mullahy was given a yellow card for slashing, and for a second, it looked like the Bulldogs might go on another scoring run. Taylor, however, forced a turnover and passed to Captain Annabel Child, who sprinted upfield and handed the ball off to her offense. Freshman Nicole Giannakopoulos cut right down the middle of the fan and made a stellar catch to secure the feed from Caroline Mullahy. After snagging the ball, Giannakopoulos deftly released the ball into the net, playing through so much defensive contact that her goggles fell off in the process.

Luckily for Harvard, the goal was deemed legal, but Yale responded aggressively, with two more goals to wrap up the half. The score read 10-4 Bulldogs.

After the halftime break, the Crimson looked as if it was going to mount a comeback, as Batchelder and Grace Mullahy each tallied goals to close the deficit to 10-6. Freshman Tori Balser was given another yellow card for Harvard, leading Yale to capitalize on another woman-up opportunity. Barkauskas made a few stellar saves, but eventually the Bulldogs struck again. Harvard regained possession, and after a Yale shot was called no-goal, the Crimson raced upfield and dished the ball to Caroline Mullahy, who scored an epic behind-the-back goal. The Harvard bench erupted into cheers, and the score read 12-8 at the end of the third.

Down four goals heading into the fourth quarter, Harvard refused to give up. Yale extended its lead on a controversial close-up goal. Then Grace Mullahy scored her third point off a strong feed from Batchelder. Yale won the following draw, continuing its reign within the circle. The Crimson defense forced multiple turnovers with aggressive rides and high pressure. However, Yale's poise under said pressure proved too much. Harvard struggled to score in the final moments, despite having a three-minute-long possession. Yale scored in the final few seconds, ending the game with a final score of 14-9.

Despite the loss, the Crimson showed fight and flashes of excellence on both ends of the field. Barkauskas finished with double-digit saves in her first start in collegiate play, and the Mullahy sisters combined for five of Harvard’s nine goals. As the regular season winds down, Harvard will need to find a way to capitalize on possessions, win the draw, and turn strong defensive stands into consistent offensive execution.

Next up, the Crimson will take on the University of New Hampshire at home on Tuesday. Then, Harvard will return to Ivy League play when it faces off against Columbia on Saturday. The team’s playoff hopes are still alive, but the team must win to maintain a high enough ranking to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

– Staff Writer Isabel C. Smail can be reached at isabel.smail@thecrimson.com