Women's Lacrosse: Harvard hands team 1st Ivy League loss, 9-8

But with 40 seconds to play, senior goalie Erin Tochihara stopped an open shot for the last of her 13 saves, giving the hosts a chance to score. An overthrown clear put the ball out of bounds and back into Harvard’s possession, but the Tigers (6-5 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) had one more opportunity following a turnover by the Crimson (7-4, 4-1).

Sophomore attacker Jaci Gassaway ran towards the goal but never had a chance to equalize, as the ball was checked out of her stick and picked up by the visitors as time expired.

This loss was the first for the Tigers in Ivy League play this year, as well as their first loss at Princeton Stadium. Princeton drops to fourth place in the conference standings, .5 games behind Harvard and Dartmouth and 1.5 games behind league-leading Penn.

Harvard dominated the beginning of the game through a fierce rainstorm, opening with five goals to put the Tigers behind right away. Princeton struggled to maintain possession throughout the game — the hosts committed 20 turnovers, won barely 25 percent of draw controls and secured just 13 of the 33 ground-ball challenges.

The Orange and Black got on the board for the first time with 13 minutes, 59 seconds remaining in the half. Senior attacker Maisie Devine passed from the goal line extended to Gassaway, who was standing on the crease for a one-time finish.

“Harvard came out strong, and we did not,” head coach Chris Sailer said. “We gave up too many turnovers, draw controls and ground balls and put ourselves in a hole.”

The Tigers started building a comeback as they netted the next two goals. On the first, Davis drove into the eight-meter arc and beat her defender to the goal.

Soon after, freshman midfielder Sarah Lloyd passed to a cutting Gassaway in the middle, bringing the score to 5-3.

Harvard broke the Tigers’ momentum before heading into halftime, however, adding another goal to send the teams into the locker room with the score at 6-3.

“We did not have as much possession as Harvard in the first half,” Sailer said. “Harvard’s attack had us constantly moving with their good on-and-off ball movement. They were patient and kept us busy so that it was harder for us to help on defense.”

The game continued in Harvard’s favor right from the start of the second half. The visitors won the opening draw control and outran the Princeton defense to put the ball in the back of the net after only eight seconds had passed.

The Tigers and Crimson then traded goals to keep the margin at four. Gassaway earned her third goal of the game, dodging around the crease and in front of the goal while junior midfielder Cassie Pyle converted on a hard, low eight-meter shot, but Harvard answered each time.

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Princeton rallied in the final 15 minutes, but three goals was not enough to force overtime. Senior attacker Lizzy Drumm added a goal for her team off her own rebound, and Pyle again successfully scored on an eight-meter shot.

The final goal of the day came off of a hard challenge from the top of the eight-meter by Davis, who finished past the Crimson goalie, but the Tigers could not find the equalizer.

“It was good to see us battle back and keep the game close,” Sailer said. “Harvard outplayed us everywhere on the field, and we didn’t execute. We were out-hustled and did not play smart lacrosse. We need to give a better physical and mental effort next time.”

The Tigers will take the field again on Wednesday as they travel to Penn (9-3, 5-0). The Quakers are the only remaining undefeated team in the Ivy League.

Princeton needs one more win to clinch the final berth in the Ivy League Tournament, with the other three spots already claimed by Penn, Dartmouth and Harvard. Cornell, Columbia or Brown could take the final spot by winning its final games if the Tigers lose each of their three remaining matches.

Princeton is still optimistic about its chances. “It is always our goal to win the Ivy championships,” said Sailer. “Every game is critical, and we will get lots of opportunities to show what we can do in the next 10 days.”