CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Cornell women's lacrosse team was able to right the ship at halftime, scoring the first four second half goals and holding on for a 9-8 win over Harvard on Saturday afternoon at Jordan Field. The Big Red improved to 3-1 (1-0 Ivy), while the Crimson slipped to 1-3 (0-1 Ivy).

Katie Castiello had two goals and an assists and Olivia Jensen notched a goal and two assists with Ellie Walsh and Genevieve DeWinter finding the back of the net twice each in the win. Katie McGahan recorded seven saves and Hilary Hoover won five draws as the Big Red held a narrow 10-9 edge in that category. 

Harvard's Grace Hulslander and Tessa Queri notched a pair of goals and Grace Rotondo saved nine shots, including seven in the second half to keep Cornell from running away with the game. The Crimson held a narrow 26-24 edge in shots.

Cornell opened the first half by jumping out to a 3-0 lead, but Harvard responded with a 6-0 run, including five goals over the final 9:40 before the break, to go into halftime with a three-goal lead. Castiello scored the first two goals and DeWinter scored back-to-back goals that put Cornell in the lead midway through the second half. Harvard clawed within a goal with 6:36 left, but couldn't get a shot on cage the rest of the way as the Big Red ran out the clock.
 

FIRST HALF

• Ellie Walsh got the Big Red on the board just 2:27 in and tallied her second of the night and third of the season 1:39 later as part of a 3-0 run to kick off the contest.
• Olivia Jensen made it 3-0 with 6:24 off the clock to put the Big Red firmly in control.
• Tessa Queri got Harvard on the board midway through the first, and after 7:12 of scoreless play, the floodgates opened for the Crimson.
• Queri ended the six-goal run with her score with 1:24 left before the break to put the home team up 6-3.
• In between, Grace Hulslander scored twice and Cornell struggled to find the cage.
• Harvard held a decisive 15-8 edge in shots and Katie McGahan made five stops to keep Cornell in the game.
 

SECOND HALF

• The second half was a different story, with Cornell ending a span of 27:45 without a goal when Castiello found the back of the net on a feed by Olivia Jensen.
• She scored against 1:44 later to get the visitors within one at 6-5.
• Grace Paletta knotted the score at 6-6 and Genevieve DeWinter put Cornell in the lead for the first time since 3-2 with her unassisted score with 19:31 remaining.
• After Harvard ended the Cornell run on a goal by Maddie Barkate to make it 7-7, DeWinter and Sophie Alois each posted goals to push the lead to 9-7 for the final 10 minutes.
• The Crimson got one back with 6:36 left, but Harvard's only shot over the remainder of the game was blocked and Cornell improved to 1-0 in Ivy play.
 

UP NEXT

• The Big Red closes its three-game road swing when it visits Central New York rival Colgate on Tuesday, March 3 at 5 p.m. at Crown Field.
• Cornell has won 20 straight contests between the teams and sports a 12-7 advantage in games played in Hamilton, N.Y.
• The Big Red leads the all-time series 33-14-1 after last season's 14-6 win over the Raiders on Schoellkopf Field.