CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 9 Stanford scored seven consecutive goals while holding Harvard scoreless for the final 18:26 to rally past the Crimson, 15-10, in nonconference women’s lacrosse action Friday night.
Rachel Ozer scored the first and last goals of the offensive surge, and sparked the Cardinal (5-1) with her forays into the heart of the sagging Harvard defense, which remained packed in the fan and dared the Cardinal to venture inside. Ozer, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, scored three goals and jumped into a tie for No. 6 on Stanford’s all-time points list (165) and to No. 8 all-time in goals (113).
Harvard had gone on a 6-1 run to take the lead early in the second half and went ahead 10-8 with 18:26 left. At that point, Alexandra Crerend was inserted into the Stanford draw and the Cardinal went on to control seven consecutive draws to close the game. Stanford dominated possession, 15:11 to 3:15, after the Crimson (3-4) had scored its final goal.
With Harvard on the verge of increasing its lead to 11-8, freshman Allie DaCar made perhaps the biggest of her six saves to keep the game close.
Lucy Dikeou, who has scored 38 goals in her past 14 games, tied the score at 10-10 by charging through contact and drawing a yellow card as she put the shot through. After Adrienne Anderson controlled the draw, Hannah Farr drew a free-position attempt. On the whistle, she surprised Harvard with a pass to Elizabeth Cusick, who had slipped into the crease from behind the goal to put Stanford into the lead for good.
Stanford scored four goals within three minutes to break the game open. Mackenzie Tesei , Farr, and Dikeou each scored two goals in the game. Crerend and Tesei each had three draw controls, and Alex Poplawski caused two turnovers and had two groundballs.
Poplawski’s strip of a Harvard player on a break, led to a Cardinal break of its own, with Poplawski sending a transition pass to Tesei at the far post for a first-half goal that was one of the most spectacular of the game.
Stanford rebounded from its 17-15 loss at No. 15 Penn State three days ago and returns home from its spring break trip for a week that begins with a Tuesday game against Cornell (7 p.m.) before traveling to Denver for a Friday showdown with the Pioneers in a rematch of the past two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament finals.
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Stanford 15, Harvard 10
Stanford 5 10 – 15
Harvard 5 5 – 10
Stanford (goals-assists): Rachel Ozer 3-0, Hannah Farr 2-1, Lucy Dikeou 2-1, Mackenzie Tesei 2-0, Elizabeth Cusick 1-1, Kyle Fraser 1-1, Alex Poplawski 1-1, Kelly Myers 1-0, Alexandra Crerend 1-0, Dillon Schoen 1-0. Totals 15-5.
Harvard: Marisa Romeo 3-3, Julia Glynn 3-0, Maeve McMahon 2-2, Audrey Todd 2-0. Totals 10-5.
Records: Stanford 5-1, Harvard 3-4.
