ITHACA, N.Y. -- Sophomore Ellie Bergin's goal with under 40 seconds to play put the Cornell women's lacrosse team ahead and junior Mackenzie Clark's save at the buzzer gave their senior teammates a final moment of celebration on Schoellkopf Field as the Big Red topped No. 21 Harvard 13-12 on Saturday afternoon. The Big Red improved to 9-4 (3-2 Ivy), while the Crimson slipped to 7-5 (2-3 Ivy) in a crucial game between two teams looking to qualify for the Ivy League Tournament.

Senior Kylie Gelabert tied a single-game school record with six assists, including one on the game-winning shot, as part of a seven-point effort as part of a balanced offense led by her classmates. Maggie Pons recorded four goals, Josie Vogel scored three times and Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Caitlin Slaminko had a goal and seven huge draw controls in the victory. All four players added to their career point totals, which all surpass the century mark for their career. Ella Wilmot had a goal and four assists as part of a five-point day. Bergin, who played the role of hero with her only goal of the day and sixth of the season, won four draws as Cornell stayed even with the Crimson at the circle. Clark made eight saves, all coming in the final three quarters, in picking up the victory in goal.

Harvard's Caroline Mullahy had two goals and five assists for seven points, while Callie Batchelder scored three times and assisted on another. Both Charlotte Hodgson and Charley Meier had a pair of scores and Grace Mullahy posted a goal and two assists. Hodgson also secured seven draw control wins, while Annabel Child caused four turnovers.Freshman Emma Barkauskas took the hard-luck loss after coming off the bench late in the first half, making five saves and allowing six goals.
 

Harvard scored first and led 4-1 and 5-2 early, but the Crimson could never separate from the Big Red throughout the first half. The Big Red tied the game at 5-5 and again at 7-7, with Pons scoring with 39 seconds left before the break to go into halftime level.

The Big Red took its first lead of the game when Pons completed the natural hat trick with her third consecutive score 7:09 into the second half, part of a 5-0 Big Red run that saw the home team take a 10-7 advantage heading into the fourth. Cornell held the Crimson scoreless for 25:45 before Harvard began a string of four goals in 2:45 to regain the lead at 11-10 with 10:26 remaining in regulation. Harvard would score just once more to go back up 12-11 with 5:45 left, but Lexie Tully's free-position shot 34 seconds later knotted the game, setting up Bergin's heroics with just under 40 seconds left.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red returns to the road for another challenge against a ranked opponent when it visits Penn on Saturday, April 19 at 3:30 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The Quakers lead the all-time series 33-18 and has won two straight matchups.
• Penn's advantage is just 4-3 since the 2016 season after the Quakers had won 12 consecutive meetings prior.