Box Score (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell women's lacrosse locked up its spot in the upcoming Ivy League Tournament with a thrilling 10-9 come-from-behind victory over Harvard at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday afternoon. It was a fitting conclusion to the regular season home slate for the Big Red, as it honored seniors Sarah Hefner, Claire MacManus and Lindsay Toppe in a pre-game ceremony for Senior Day.
 
The victory pushed Cornell's (9-5, 4-2 Ivy League) record to 4-2 in Ivy League play, guaranteeing the Big Red at minimum the three-seed in the Ivy League Tournament, which is slated to begin in two weekends. The squad can finish as high as the two-seed with a victory over Penn in the team's season finale next weekend in Philadelphia. Cornell has now qualified for postseason play for the fourth consecutive season.
 
It was a tale of two halves against the upset-minded Crimson (6-7, 3-3 Ivy League) who seemingly controlled the game with 19-minutes remaining. Harvard completely locked down the potent Cornell attack in the opening half, limiting the home side to just three goals and seven shots; in taking a 6-3 lead into halftime. It was the first time this season that Cornell trailed at the break against an Ivy League opponent.
 
"They were really taking away our dodging game in the first half," senior co-captain Lindsay Toppe said postgame. "I thought we did an excellent job of making adjustments in the second half."
 
While it was the seniors that provided the leadership, it was the sophomores that jump started the Big Red on both ends to help Cornell outscore Harvard 6-1 over the final 18:39 of the game to notch the huge victory. Catherine Ellis finished with a game-high five-goals, while Amie Dickson led the way with six points (2g-4a), including the team's final two-goals to break an 8-8 deadlock with 3:55 to play.
 
On the opposite end, goalkeeper Renee Poullott (W, 9-5) provided the game-saving theatrics. With Harvard pushing for a late equalizer with under one-minute remaining, she picked off a pass into the arc for a huge caused turnover. After the Big Red turned it over on the clearing attempt, Harvard's junior midfielder Alexis Nicolia was fouled to set up a nervy final three seconds. Nicolia rushed in from the top of the fan, but her final shot was denied by Poullott to preserve the victory. She would finish with six saves in the contest, while the victory pushes her into the Top-10 in program history with 14 for her career.
 
"We have a special group of sophomores that really came to play today," Head Coach Jenny Graap said. "They stepped up and I'm glad we could get a victory for the seniors in their final game here."
 
That outcome did not look like it would be the case through the opening 40 minutes. Although sophomore Kristy Gilbert (2g) got the Big Red off and running, taking a feed from junior Emily Tripodi (1a) and whipping it upstairs past Harvard net-minder Kelly Weis, the Crimson responded with a four-goal run and six of the next seven overall to establish a comfortable margin. Ellis would score her first of the game 1:45 before the break to create a little bit of momentum for the Big Red heading into the half.
 
Ellis would not long to tally her second once play resumed in the second half. Dickson started the play with a precise feed to get the ball to Ellis inside the arc. The latter did an excellent job to receive it, while surrounded by three Harvard defenders. She quickly whipped around and fired a shot that beat Weis low to cut the deficit to two. The run would not last long, as the Crimson answered with goals from Madeline Silverman – her first of the season – and Julia Glynn to re-establish the four-goal advantage.
 
Needing a surge, Cornell got one from its sophomore sniper Ellis, who jump started a decisive six-goal run by the home side. She tallied the hat-trick on the afternoon scoring off the rush with a shot from the right side of the free-position arc. The next two came on similar plays, as Toppe found her with passes down low at the left side of the net, with Ellis making a quick dodge to free up for scoring shots. Suddenly the deficit was only 8-7 with 10:55 to play.
 
Gilbert equalized the game on a great combination high-low play with Toppe and Dickson. The senior co-captain started the play, moving around the net, before arcing a pass up top to Dickson at the top of the fan. She quickly moved the ball to Gilbert who found space streaking inside the arc. She whipped a wicked shot from the side that tickled the twine to equalize the game with 7:39 left.
 
Dickson would take care of the scoring from there on out. She pulled the Big Red ahead for the first time since the game's opening goal, scoring on a free-position shot from straight on with 3:55 to play. She would add the final tally into an open net, as the Crimson's Weis was given a yellow card for slashing with 2:35 to play. She one-hopped a shot into the yawning cage from 12-yards out to cap the scoring.
 
Eliza Guild would pull the Crimson within one just 26 seconds later with a free-position goal to set up the exciting final few minutes of action.
 
Cornell will conclude its regular-season slate next Sunday, April 26, when it travels to Philadelphia to take on Penn. Opening draw is slated for 1 p.m. The winner will earn the No. 2 seed in the Ivy Tournament, while the loser will be seeded third.