CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Scoring six times in the second half, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team opened its 2015 season by topping Hofstra by a score of 10-6 at the Soldiers Field Lacrosse Stadium Saturday afternoon.
On a cold blustery day in Cambridge, Marisa Romeo led Harvard (1-0) with four goals, while goalie Kelly Weis recorded 11 saves in net. The Pride (2-1) was led by Tiana Parrella, who finished with four goals and an assist for a five-point effort. Kelsey Gregerson finished with 10 stops in net for Hofstra.
Harvard got on the scoreboard first with a free-position goal by Maeve McMahon just 59 seconds into the contest, but the Pride responded with a two-goal run and led, 2-1, after two minutes of play. With 17:41 to go in the first, Romeo tied the game with a free-position shot.
After the Pride went up, 4-2, with 4:44 remaining in the half, Audrey Todd grabbed a draw control and scored unassisted only nine seconds later to pull the Crimson back within one. Romeo knotted the game again, 4-4, with her second tally of the game, also on a free-position attempt, with 3:18 to go in the stanza.
In the second half, Todd and Harvard struck first, as she buried a shot past Gergerson at 27:44. Parrella made it a 5-5 game at 26:32, but the Crimson quickly responded again just 23 seconds later, as Julia Glynn netted her first-career goal to put Harvard back on top.
Romeo gave Harvard a two-goal cushion at 20:57, 7-5, and the score remained that way until the 6:50 mark when Hofstra’s Sam Lenox cut the lead to one.
In the final minutes, Harvard controlled much of the play, and Eliza Guild made it 8-6 with a free-position goal with 3:36 remaining. The Crimson tacked on two empty net goals by Romeo with 22 seconds left and Carolyn Bruckmann with nine ticks left to open the margin to 10-6.
Harvard held the final count in shots, 27-20, and draw controls, 10-8. Shots were even, 20-20, with the Crimson going 14-of-15 on clear attempts and holding the Pride to 13-of-23. Marina Burke, Glynn and McMahon all had three ground balls for the Crimson, while Megan Hennessey paced the team with four draw controls.
Up next, the Crimson will visit No. 7 Virginia Tuesday, March 3 at 3 p.m.