Sports

WEEKLY RECAP

MEN’S TENNIS VS. CORNELL L, 4-1 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. WAGNER W, 9-6 ___________________________________________________________ MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. COLUMBIA W, 77-73 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S LACROSSE VS. NIAGARA W, 15-3 ___________________________________________________________ WRESTLING VS. LIU W, 33-14 ___________________________________________________________ MEN’S ICE HCOKEY VS. BROWN T, 1-1 ___________________________________________________________ MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS. GEORGE MASON W, 3-1 ___________________________________________________________

Harvard Clinches Home Ice For ECAC Quarterfinals WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY

By WILLIAM C. BOGGS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Despite having beaten Rensselaer (RPI) and Union by multigoal margins in January, Harvard faced significant resistance on the road in Upstate New York. Nonetheless, the Crimson (15-11-1, 14-5-1 ECAC) managed to add a third-period insurance goal against the Engineers (0-31-1, 0-20-0 ECAC) and notched a sudden-death overtime winner against the Dutchwomen (5-22-5, 5-12-3 ECAC). The weekend sweep earns Harvard home-ice advantage for the ECAC quarterfinals, but seeding will depend on this upcoming weekend’s games.

With a home win against Clarkson this Friday, the Crimson would guarantee at least the three seed, although the two and four seeds will remain in play as well.

HARVARD 3, UNION 2 (OT) As the overtime clock ticked below two minutes, the contest between the Crimson and the Dutchwomen loomed towards a tie. Junior forward Becca Gilmore, however, altered the course of the game with a single snipe 3:01 into the extra session.

After digging into the corner for the loose puck, sophomore forward Kristin Della Rovere found Gilmore in the slot, who held, glided for a moment, and ripped the puck under the bar. The moment that the puck hit the back of the net, Harvard skaters streamed onto the ice.

“It was a good feeling. It was definitely a feeling of relief, but also [we were] happy that we could get that win,” sophomore forward Anne Bloomer said. “We were also really excited about the results of that game as it gave us home ice for playoffs… It’s going to be awesome to host that first round here at Harvard.”

Despite the tight finish, the Crimson never actually trailed in the game, although the two teams were deadlocked for much of the third.

Union tied the game with 9:18 remaining in regulation, and both teams would trade chances for the last half period, but to no avail for either squad. “I think that we knew we had the depth, the confidence, [and] the ability to win this game,” Bloomer said. “Both teams got really good looks to the net. We battled hard, and at the end of regulation, we knew that we had been in this situation before… It just took a bit more patience and a couple more minutes to get it done. I think that’s what characterized those last 10 or so minutes. It was battle, but it was also calm and collected confidence.”

Although the scoring slowed down at the end of the third, the first half of the final frame saw frenetic action. Just 27 seconds into the period, the Dutchwomen knotted the game at one. That said, Harvard pulled ahead again just about two and a half minutes later. Then, as mentioned, Union equalized midway through the last period.

Much of the reason that the Crimson could only muster one goal before the third came down to the play of the Dutchwomen’s senior goaltender Amelia Murray, who would finish the afternoon with 46 saves.

Gilmore’s game-clincher, however, would spoil the heroic effort from Murray and grant Harvard its 14th league win.

HARVARD 3, RPI 1 Entering the third period, the

COOL AS ICE Junior forward Becca Gilmore (above) proved to be a difference maker, leading Harvard with three goals over the two games, including the OT game-winner against Union. BRENDAN J. CHAPUIS—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Crimson found itself only up by one goal—even though it had earned a 24-9 shots-on-goal advantage in the first two frames. With the game in the balance, however, Della Rovere added some separation that would ice the game. 6:54 into the final stanza, the sophomore forward turned a turnover into a breakaway.

Finishing the rush, Della Rovere fired the puck over the outstretched glove of the Engineers’ first-year goalie Ena Nystrøm, giving Harvard the cushion to ultimately solidify a win.

“The mentality was to just keep on playing hard,” Bloomer said. “After that third goal, we did have some breathing room, but we didn’t ever want to stop pursuing the net or stop playing defense.”

It is no secret that winless RPI has struggled this season. Nonetheless, the Engineers— who lost 3-0 in their first matchup with the Crimson—have lost 11 games by two goals or less and have never lost by more than five. RPI has remained within striking distance in most of its games, and the trend continued as the team responded to Harvard’s first goal with a second-period equalizer.

“They [RPI] came out right from the start with a bunch of force and an attitude that they were going to be gritty and work as hard as they could to get pucks to the net,” Bloomer said. “They got up for us—they were ready.”

The 1-1 tie game did not last for long, however, as Gilmore— Saturday’s overtime hero— scored the go-ahead goal roughly five minutes later (at the 13:12 mark of the middle frame). Although Della Rovere would capitalize in the third to set the 3-1 final margin, two goals were all that the Crimson would need.

Junior goalie Becky Dutton only surrendered one goal on the afternoon, turning away 16 shots in the process. Combined with Saturday’s performance against Union, Dutton earned her fifth win of the year, pushing her record to 5-1 and save percentage to 0.944, albeit in a small sample.

With sophomore Lindsay Reed starting the majority of games and senior Beth Larcom appearing five times as well, Harvard has shown remarkable depth at the goaltender position, a trait that should prove critical come playoff time.

“We’re very fortunate here at Harvard to have four really great goalies—people who can step in at any time and fill the role that they need to fill,” Bloomer said. “It’s very reassuring for us. We trust all of our goalies.”

william.boggs@thecrimson.com

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Harvard Splits Road Games Over Weekend in New York

By A.J. DILTS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After a dominant 73-58 win over Cornell (9-11, 2-6 Ivy) Friday night, Harvard (14-7, 5-3) struggled to keep its momentum going into Saturday, ending the long road trip with an 89-64 loss to Columbia (13-8, 4-4).

HARVARD 73, CORNELL 58 Sophomore guard Tess Sussman led Friday’s victory with a career-high 20-point performance.

She was joined in double figures by Maggie McCarthy, Jeannie Boehm, and Lola Mullaney, with Rachel Levy’s ninepoint, 10-rebound effort helping secure the win.

The Crimson jumped out to an early 22-15 first-quarter lead, as freshman standout Mullaney buried three early triples and senior forward Boehm punished the Big Red with three inside baskets.

By halftime, a 38-19 Crimson lead signalled the women were playing with a level of energy and focus that Cornell simply could not match.

Boehm, a four-year starter, ended Friday’s contest with 14 points, but it was her two blocks, six rebounds, and effort on the defensive end that coach Kathy Delaney-Smith found praiseworthy.

“I think Jeannie’s probably one of the best defensive players in the league,” Delaney-Smith said. “I don’t think anyone really talks about that, we talk to her all the time about her value is almost more on the defensive end and as a rebounder than on the offensive end. I think she’s pretty lethal on both ends of the floor.”

Boehm has also displayed a vision and passing ability from the post, leading Harvard with six assists Friday.

“The fact that she’s had so many assists for us, just speaks volumes for how unselfish she is,” said Delaney-Smith.

And after struggling mightily to score early in the second half, it was Boehm who laid in the Crimson’s first second-half bucket at the 4:44 mark in the third quarter.

Despite Cornell managing to shrink the Harvard lead to 10 in the third quarter, the Crimson defense and grit Delaney-Smith has been preaching did much to prevent the Big Red from cut

ting the lead to single digits.

A shooting barrage from Sussman, who made three three-point shots and scored 11 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter, extended the Harvard lead out of reach and helped her team notch its fifth win in the last six games.

HARVARD 64, COLUMBIA 89 Harvard continued its long road trip in New York City Saturday, where a hungry and deep Columbia squad capitalized on its chance to climb up the Ivy League Standings, ensuring that the Crimson dominance on Friday would not continue on the second night of the back-toback.

The Lions did a good job containing Harvard’s leading scorer.

Mullaney has been a consistent scoring presence for the Crimson this season, and her 15.3 points per game rank amongst the top in the Ivy League.

Against Columbia, though, Mullaney struggled early to create offense.

She remained scoreless until 1:19 remained in the first half, showing signs of possible fatigue and trouble adjusting to the back-to-back nature of Ivy League play.

“[Mullaney] thinks she can play 40 minutes a night, I think learning how to do that is part of being a Division One athlete in the Ivy League. It’s a hard, hard road trip with all of the bus time, so she did not have her legs,” said Coach Delaney-Smith following the loss.

Although initially trading baskets with the Lions, Harvard’s inability to get a shot off as the first quarter buzzer sounded indicated this was not the focused, engaged Crimson team that had rolled the previous night.

Columbia sprinted out to a 20-4 run to end the first half, and continued cruising through the second half.

The loss did afford some players with an opportunity to gain valuable experience on the court.

Freshman guard Annie Strizel took full advantage of her time on the court, finishing with a career-high eight points on three-of-five shooting from the field.

Junior forward Maddie Stuhlreyer chipped in with a career-best nine points and a team-high six rebounds as well. “Annie [Strizel] played really hard off the bench, she played hard,” said Delaney-Smith. “She has great court IQ. I thought she did a pretty solid job coming off the bench. I have Sara Park, she’s a tremendous shooter. Gabby Donaldson, a tremendous athlete. [The freshmen] all have potential. [...] They have enormous potential.”

Mullaney, Boehm, and Levy all finished in double figures with 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively.

As Harvard marches on through Ivy League play, the Crimson will need its young, less experienced players to take their games to another level and provide much needed bench depth.

As for Lola Mullaney, Coach Delaney-Smith has little worry her young star will bounce back from Saturday’s struggles.

“The transition to college basketball is massive, and for her to be as solid and consistent as she is for us is tremendous. She just gets better every time she steps on the floor.”

With the Crimson facing another tough road trip at league-leading Princeton (19- 1, 7-7 Ivy) on Friday and second-place Penn (15-5, 5-2) Saturday, Harvard will need to rebound quickly if it hopes to solidify its spot in the Ivy League Tournament.