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Despite a strong showing in the group stages, Harvard fell short of first place at the Emperor 7s last Sunday, losing to a talented and aggressive Dartmouth team that nullified the Crimson.

The second place finish was an improvement from last week’s third-place performance at Crimson 7s.

The day's schedule had Harvard A scheduled to play two games before an opportunity to play in the playoffs.

A wet, grey, and muddy day set the scene for a competition filled with high-level teams playing under difficult conditions.

Harvard 26, Queens 10

The Crimson kicked off the tournament with an explosive performance.

Although it was Queens who got on the scoreboard first, capitalizing on a misplaced Crimson lineout, their lead did not last long. Harvard was able to find junior outside back Cameron Fields, who used her electric pace to carry the ball the full length of the field for the Crimson's first try of the day.

“In practice, we’ve been focusing a lot on support and backing yourself and I think that’s something that I’ve been working on more and more this season is just backing my speed and also backing my ability to get around defenders.” said Fields on having the confidence to beat players.

The score remained 7-5 until the end of the first half when sophomore flyhalf Maya Hilger made a drive across the field, and with two quick passes, the ball was in the safe hands of junior outside back Victoria Stanley who was able to carry the ball over the line, putting Harvard up 14- 5 at the break.

The second half began with transitional moments for both teams. A loose ball was capitalized on by junior back row Lennox London, and from the ruck, Fields eyed up a break in the defensive line of the Queens and struck for her second try of the game. Queens found a way to narrow the score back to 19-10, but senior lock Jara Emtage-Cave finished out the game with the final try for Harvard to secure its first victory of the game.

The Crimson’s dynamic nature helped it to a strong start to the day. Fields reflected on how their training during the week aided their performance.

“We have been able to get a lot of high-quality reps in practice because we get to see different defensive pictures and challenge ourselves to be more creative if defenses aren’t allowing us to play wide”, she said.

Harvard 22, Quinnipiac 7

Harvard used its momentum to take off where it left off. It only took 3 minutes for the team to pull ahead against Quinnipiac.

An unconnected pass led to some quick thinking from Emtage-Cave. She executed a well-placed kick that she chased down to score through the posts.

The Crimson's lead did not last long however, with Quinnipiac responding with their own try and conversion to lead the game 7-5.

Harvard went into the break 12-5 with London displaying her phenomenal pace with a break from the Crimson's defensive zone all the way up the wing to the posts at the other end.

London recognized the team effort that contributed to her tries. “We moved the ball well and played off of each other which allowed for a lot of our tries. The plays that I scored off of were fairly simple which is why they’re so beautiful but so effective we just had great continuity,” she explained.

Fields continued her contributions for the day with another try in the early stages of the second half. Again London struck into the try zone, to complete Harvard’s dominant display. The game was Harvard's second victory of the day, 22-7.

Harvard 7, Dartmouth 15

The championship game was a familiar lineup of two teams who have dominated college rugby, a suitable rivalry for the occasion.

Dartmouth kicked off and with a couple of slick passes, the Crimson got Stanley free, to drive towards the Dartmouth half of the field. She was caught before she could near the posts.

The Big Green responded by quickly applying high pressure, earning an early try for its efforts. The aggression and intensity of Dartmouth did not allow the Crimson to establish any rhythm and neither team was able to make a mark on the game. At halftime, the score stood at 7-0.

The group hoped to change the tides of the game in the second half.

“It was clear that we were playing under a lot of pressure and we were not adjusting to that well. I think we hoped to get back into the game by giving ourselves more depth and time off the ball and changing direction when we felt like they’d defense was in our face”, reflected London.

Harvard came out in the second half hoping to turn its fate around. Dartmouth dampened these hopes early in the second half, with a similarly timed try of that in the first half. They continued with their fierce attack scoring a minute later, putting the Big Green ahead 15-0.

Despite this deficit, the Crimson was not deterred. The team fought back, and despite the conditions making it hard to connect passes, Harvard was able to gain territory on the field. Freshman forward Eseta Pale powered her way under the posts for Harvard’s only try of the day.

The game ended 15-7, meaning the Crimson claimed second place at the Emperor 7s tournament.

The Crimson are now able to regroup with a two-week break until its next competition. The team next plays at home again on April 19th at the Ivy 7s.

– Staff Writer Rhiannon Stewart can be reached at rhiannon.stewart@thecrimson.com.