No. 17 Women’s lacrosse (7-3, 2-1 Ivy) staged a second-half comeback to take down previously No. 24 Harvard (6-4, 1-2 Ivy) 12-10 on Saturday in Providence.
The win marks the Bears’ second straight triumph in Ivy League play following last weekend’s stunning upset of No. 7 Yale — their first victory over the Bulldogs since 2019. The Bears’ performance against Harvard showed the same gritty determination and relentless drive, fueling optimism for a strong postseason run.
Carly Camphausen ’25 netted a team-high four goals to propel the Bears to victory.
“There’s no better feeling than a conference win,” Camphausen wrote in an email to The Herald. “When you throw in a ranked opponent on top of that it’s great for team spirit. I think we all were able to enjoy the moment knowing our hard work paid off but understand that this is just the tip of the iceberg for the team and it’s time to get back to work.”
Harvard got off to a fast start, scoring the opening goal less than a minute into the game. Beth Anderson ’27 responded for Bruno, tying the game less than two minutes later. But the Crimson continued their strong start, rattling off three goals to claim a 4-1 lead by the end of the first quarter.
“We all know what we are capable of as a team and the first quarter was nowhere near a reflection of the standard we set for ourselves,” Camphausen wrote.
Although Greta Criqui ’25 and Camphausen scored back-to-back goals to kick off the second quarter for Brown, Harvard was quick to answer. Scoring two of the next three goals, the Crimson entered halftime up 6-4.
Brown dominated the third quarter, wrestling the momentum away from Harvard. Criqui and Maddie Joyce ’25 each scored within the first three minutes, with both goals coming off assists from Avery Doran ’28. Criqui’s goal marked her 100th career point.
The Crimson answered with a goal of their own, but Joyce scored again to tie the score at 7. After Harvard again took the lead, Camphausen and Doran scored consecutive goals to give Bruno a 9-8 lead with one quarter to play.
The two teams went toe-to-toe to open the fourth quarter, trading goals in a tense back-and-forth. At that point, Camphausen took command, splitting the defense and scoring twice in just 26 seconds to slam the door on Harvard and secure the win for Brown.
“Coming back from a deficit that was a result of very controllable errors was just a matter of cleaning up some simple things and playing Brown Lacrosse,” Camphausen wrote. It’s “something we practice every single day and know how to do very well.”
Despite Camphausen’s stellar performance, she remained humble.
“The main reason I was able to put up goals during the game was due to the support of my teammates around me,” she wrote. “We always have each others’ backs.”
The Bears’ defense was no less essential to their win. Goalkeeper Claire Mahoney ’26 recorded a career-high 12 saves, earning Ivy League Women’s Lacrosse Defensive Athlete of the Week for the second week in a row.
But after riding high on the weekend, the Bears’ momentum came to a halt during Tuesday night’s nail-biting match up against No. 11 Duke.
Though the Blue Devils pushed their lead to 11-9 over the first three quarters, the Bears then scored four goals in under three minutes. With one minute to go, Brown had one last chance to even the score. But Duke’s defense held strong and the Bears were left agonizingly close to a third consecutive win against a ranked opponent.
The Bears have won seven of their first 10 games while playing a tough schedule that has featured four top-25 matchups.
“It’s obviously great to know what we are capable of but this program still has a lot to prove,” Camphausen wrote. “Going into more games with strong opponents we are just focusing on playing our best lacrosse and being proud of what we leave out there.”
Brown will look to continue their strong start as they host Columbia on Saturday.
Gus Bailey is a senior staff writer covering the sports beat. He is a sophomore studying applied math-economics. His interests include data analytics, marketing, social media and of course, sports.
