CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Cornell women's lacrosse team (7-5, 2-2 Ivy) fell behind early and could not recover in a 13-5 loss to the Harvard Crimson (8-2, 3-1 Ivy) on Saturday afternoon from Jordan Field. Cornell, who had a season-low nine shots on goal and a season-high 22 turnovers, also had its three-game winning streak in Cambridge snapped with the defeat.

Senior captain Caitlin Slaminko netted two goals on three shot attempts for her fifth multi-point game of 2024. Three other upperclassmen found the back of the net in Alexa Donahoe, Kylie Gelabert, and Josie Vogel. Vogel and sophomore Dillyn Patten also had assists on the day for Cornell. Cornell's defense was led by Ellie Horner, who logged 11 saves and had a .458 save percentage. It was the fifth time Horner has put forward a save percentage of .400 or higher this season and her sixth career game with 10 or more stops. Senior defender Annie Thomas also locked down the draw circle with eight victories and a team-high two caused turnovers.

Senior Riley Campbell paced Harvard's potent offense with five goals and an assist. Callie Hem was the other notable Crimson attacker, logging two goals and an assist. Chloe Provenzano earned the win in the cage with four saves and five goals allowed, and Despina Giannakopoulos had a game-high nine ground balls in a victory that puts them a game behind Yale for the top spot in the conference.

The wet and sloppy weather played a factor early, with neither team finding the back of the net for nearly seven minutes. Harvard broke the scoreless streak off the stick of Hem, taking a handoff from Campbell and firing home a skipper that snuck past Horner to jump ahead early. That goal seemed to wake up the potent Harvard offense that came into Saturday with the fourth-best offense in the country at 17.22 goals per game, as it tallied two more over less than a minute from Campbell and Stella Shea to go up 3-0. Cornell would have a woman-up opportunity right after the third Crimson goal but could not capitalize. Babcock got close with a free position before Provenzano picked up a key save and allowed for a Harvard runout that led to Hem's second of the quarter to build its lead up to four. The Big Red had one final chance in the quarter for its first tally with less than 30 seconds left as a Crimson turnover allowed one final offensive possession. Cornell could not get a shot off, giving the Crimson a 4-0 lead after one. Harvard won the battle in shots on goal in the period by a 6-2 margin. 

Cornell's offense found a jolt to begin the second with a successful draw control win by Slaminko to set up the Big Red offense. After passing it around, Cornell got the look it wanted, as Vogel found a cutting Donahoe for a nifty backhand shot that squeaked past Provenzano to put the visitors on the board. Both teams traded shots back and forth after the Donahoe goal before a foul on Hoover allowed a reset for the Crimson and another goal from Campbell, weaving through two Big Red defenders for her 39th of the year to go back up by four. Possession trading occurred for both teams over the next three minutes before Babcock got another quality look at the top left corner cage on a blitz. Provenzano stepped up to the challenge with a key save, allowing a quick run out and another goal to find the back of the net from Campbell to make it 6-1. Turnovers scattered the quarter before another Harvard yellow card provided 2:00 minutes of an extra woman for the Big Red. That did not matter for the Crimson, as a Big red turnover allowed the home team to grab possession and score another woman-down goal. Harvard continued to test the Big Red defense with another slicer by Hem that fell into the webbing of Horner's stick. A successful clear allowed the Big Red to milk the shot clock and get a good look. And they found it about 30 seconds later, as Patten found Gelabert in a sea of white for Cornell's second goal with 2:21 to go in the half. Harvard got one final chance on cage with a free position attempt with 1:34 to go. Horner stepped up to the challenge with her fourth stop to keep the score at 7-2 heading into the locker room. 

The second half opened with a dry spell for both sides, having six total shots and three turnovers combined. Harvard would break the scoreless drought with 8:30 left in the quarter on a connection between Hem and Maddie Barkate to go back up by six. Cornell's sloppy play continued with consecutive possessions that ended in turnovers. Harvard made the second turnover count, extending its lead to 9-2. Cornell did find a spark late in the third, as Ward put her stick up in the air just high enough to alter a Crimson pass and snag the ground ball before finding Vogel four seconds later for her 29th of the season. Annie Thomas corralled the following draw control near the entrance to the Harvard defense end before the ball was knocked out clean of her hands and scooped up by Marissa Stafford. That ground ball came back to bite the Crimson, as Stafford recorded her first career assist on a pass to Slaminko, who buried it in the back of the net to put the Big Red within five heading into the final period. 

With the late surge to close the third, it looked like the Big Red would continue to chip away at the deficit standing in front of them with Thomas winning the opening draw. But another turnover by the Big Red led to the Crimson scoring first from Charlotte Hodgson to stop the Cornell role and jump back ahead by six. The tough day continued for the Big Red, as a green and two yellow cards over less than a minute of game action allowed the Crimson to rattle off its second and third woman-up goals of the afternoon to take an eight-goal lead. Despite the margin, the Big Red offense kept trying to find a spark with consecutive shots by Ward that hit the post and went wide after another tough save by Horner. Harvard took advantage of another Big Red turnover less than a minute later as Callie Batchelder found the back of the next to make it 13-4 with 5:56 to go. Cornell got the final goal, as Slaminko netted her second of the day with 23 seconds to go. But the clock was not on the side of the Big Red, as Harvard ran out the final seconds to secure the win and snap a three-game losing streak to the Big Red in Cambridge.

BIG RED NOTABLES

• Junior attacker Josie Vogel bested her previous career high for goals (28) with her 29th of the year in the third quarter. The Massachusetts product is now three points away from 100 in her Big Red career.
• Senior defender Marissa Stafford recorded her first career assist during the third quarter.
• Vogel's goal and assist performance also extends her active goals and points streaks to 25 consecutive games. 
• Ellie Horner's 11 saves are the most by a Big Red goalkeeper in a game against the Crimson that ended in regulation since Katie McGahan had 12 in an 11-5 win in Ithaca on March 2, 2019. 
• Cornell's nine shots on goal were the lowest output for the Big Red in a game since having seven in a 14-2 loss to Stony Brook on March 16, 2019.
• Senior defender Annie Thomas had eight draw control wins during Saturday's contest. She needs 19 over the last three games to best her mark of 64 from last season. 

UP NEXT
Ivy Play continues for the Big Red, returning home to battle No. 7 Penn on Saturday, April 13 at noon from Schoellkopf Field. The game will also be Cornell's annual Morgan's Message game.