Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Harvard opened the second half with six straight goals and held off a hard-charging Cornell team 13-12 on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field in the Ivy League opener for both teams. The Crimson evened its record at 1-1 (1-0 Ivy), while the Big Red slipped to 1-2 (0-1 Ivy).

Olivia Knotts scored a goal and was credited with three assists, while Shannon McHugh scored three times. Both Jessi Steinberg and Caroline Salisbury scored twice. Goalkeepers Kyla Dambach and Courtney Gallagher had five saves apiece for the Big Red in the loss. McHugh had a team-best three caused turnovers, while Ali O'Neil won three draws and two ground balls and caused a turnover.

Harvard held a narrow 29-28 edge in shots and won the draw control battle 16-11, including 9-4 in the decisive second half. The Crimson also scored on 3-of-6 free-position efforts.

Jenn VanderMeulen had a game-high four goals for Harvard and Melanie Baskind had a hat trick of her own. Jess Halpern, Jen Leffew and Danielle Tetreault also scored two goals each.Micaela Cyr won five draws and Tetreault added three draw wins to her three-point night.

The Big Red took a 7-6 lead into the break in large part due to an inspired effort by McHugh, who had each of her three goals and three caused turnovers in the first 30 minutes. Her free-position goal with 1:36 left in the half  was the go-ahead score and the third straight for the home team after trailing at 4-2, 5-3 and 6-4.

Baskind, Halpern and VanderMeulen each scored twice during the run that spanned the first 21:30 of the second half. The home team made a furious rally, scoring the final four goals of the game, including getting within one on a great one-on-one score by Steinberg with 27 seconds left, but the Crimson won the ensuing draw control and ran out the clock to earn the win.

Cornell returns to action on Friday, March 11 when it visits Loyola at 1 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.