The Harvard women's lacrosse team improved to 5-1 with a 16-11 win over Connecticut Wednesday afternoon at rainy Jordan Field. Junior Kaitlin Martin scored seven goals and assisted on another in the winning effort.

It was Harvard's first win over the Huskies in five tries. The Crimson is off to its best start since the 1994 season. UConn falls to 0-6 on the season.

Harvard fell behind early as UConn scored two straight goals to start the first half. Martin and senior Caroline Simmons found the back on the net to tie the score at 2-2 after six minutes of play. The Huskies used another tally to take the lead and went up 5-3 midway through the first stanza.

The Crimson attack took over for the final 15 minutes of the half, scoring five straight, including three from Martin to take a 8-5 lead into halftime. UConn answered in the second stanza with a goal from Whitney Michelle one minute into the frame. But the Crimson responded with seven on the next eight scores to take a 15-7 lead after 16 minutes of play. The Huskies scored the final three goals over the last eight minutes of the game to close the gap to five, but Harvard's lead was too much to overcome.

Simmons and Tara Schoen joined Martin with multiple goal efforts. Schoen scored three tallies, while Simmons had two. Senior Lauren Bobzin and Natalie Curtis, sophomore Sara Flood and freshman Jess Halpern had a goal apiece. Flood led the team in assists with four, Halpern had two, while Martin and Curtis each had one. Kim MGinty led the Huskies with four tallies.

Senior Kathryn Tylander earned the win in the net after starting the game. She made two saves and allowed five goals. Sophomore Katherine Martino made four saves and stopped six shots in the second half.

Harvard opens its Ivy League season against Brown Saturday, March 22 at Jordan Field. First draw is slated for 1:00 p.m.

2008-03-19