Sophomore Lydia Gardner had a solid game in net, allowing just one goal while recording nine saves.

“Lydia came up big for us against Marist, quarterbacking our defense,” Russell said. “Holding a team like that to only one goal is very encouraging.”

Despite the large margin of victory, the atmosphere surrounding the game was highly contentious, as play even had to be stopped at one point to separate hostile fans. The play in the water reflected the behavior out of the pool, as two players were removed for fighting.

“Their players were playing dirty and for a team that wasn’t scoring against us to play like that took us by surprise,” Kennifer said.

HARVARD 19, UTICA 1

The Crimson opened up the two-day tournament with a match-up against the third-seeded squad in its bracket, Utica (1-13).

Harvard almost had to find ways not to score as it racked up 10 first quarter goals. The Crimson added three more before half, taking a 13-0 lead into the break. Utica finally ended the shutout bid with a goal in the third, but Harvard added four more in the frame for a 17-1 lead.

“After scoring 10 in the first quarter, we just worked on a few plays and slowed the clock down a lot,” Russell said.

Nine out of the 12 players—two of whom were goalies—on the roster scored in the blowout.

“I think that’s the most telling statistic,” Russell said. “It’s representative of the fact that everyone on the roster got involved.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.