CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — No. 19-ranked Harvard University won both its games at home to open the 2023 Brown University Bruno Classic. In the early matchup, the Crimson rode a late push to overcome No. 23 Marist College, 19-12, before defeating La Salle University, 18-7, to close out a successful day at Blodgett Pool.
Facing nationally-ranked Marist in a back-and-forth game, the Crimson eventually pulled away late in the third quarter and continued their offensive explosion in the fourth quarter. No team had bigger than a two-goal cushion late into the third until Jaiden Miller, Sasha Constandse and Brooke Hourigan added goals to help the Crimson grab a comfortable lead.
13 different Crimson athletes scored in the victory led by Ruby Hodge who was all over the scoresheet after tallying pairs of goals, assists and steals.
Ella Prentice, Annabel Facey, Kaity Greenwald and Borden Wahl each tallied one goal each, while Constandse netted a hat-trick with an assist.
Dany Zapata snagged four steals and captain Grace Thawley scored one goal while also drawing four knockouts.
Hourigan had two helpers and five steals, while Evan Tingler and Erin Kim both added two tallies and two assists. Miller finished with a pair of goals.
Harvard jumped out to a 7-5 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter as Tingler, Wahl, Miller, Kim and Hodge each found the rear of the cage.
Marist battled back in the second quarter to make it nine-all heading into halftime.
However, the Crimson offense exploded in the third quarter to outscore Marist, 6-2, with goals from Miller, Constandse, Prentice, Hourigan and Mobley.
The third quarter outburst was enough to help Harvard cruise to the victory in the fourth quarter as the team outscored Marist, 4-1, in the final frame.
Taking on La Salle in the late game, the Crimson offense picked up where they left off as they scored 28 goals in the final six quarters of play on the day. First-year Heidi Heffelfinger recorded a six-goal game to close out her first collegiate day at Blodgett Pool.
Thawley, Tingler, and Hourigan chipped in pairs of goals to accompany two goals and three assists by Greenwald.
Harvard never trailed against the Explorers as the team put up 10 goals in the first half.
Harvard took a 3-0 run through the first six minutes stopped by a successful La Salle five-meter attempt to cut the deficit to two at 3-1. The Crimson earned its own penalty shot in the final seconds to pull back ahead by three at the end of the frame, 4-1.
Harvard opened the scoring again in the second quarter in similar fashion with three unanswered goals before La Salle responded to move within 7-2. Harvard responded almost immediately taking another 3-0 run out of the half for an eight-goal lead at 10-2 entering halftime.
The Explorers momentum got rolling finding the back of the net four times in the start of the second half, but allowed five goals for the Crimson to trail 15-6 heading into the final eight minutes of the game.
Harvard moved its advantage to double-digits at 17-6 until before teams exchanged scoring shots for the 18-7 final.
Information courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
