After a season of handing out assists to her teammates, it was time for sophomore Melanie Baskind to get some goals of her own.

And for the Harvard women’s soccer team, Baskind’s scoring display could not have come at a more crucial moment.

Baskind’s two goals in the Crimson’s final match of the regular season propelled Harvard over Columbia in overtime, 2-1, and earned the defending Ivy League champions an outright Ancient Eight title for the first time this decade.

“It was just the kind of game we needed in a big time pressure experience,” Crimson coach Ray Leone said. “[Baskind] was focused. She was sharp with her touches.”

After the Lions sent the game into overtime with a last-second score, Harvard would need a way to regain its edge. Enter Baskind.

“When the pressure’s on, she wants the ball,” Leone said.

Six minutes into the first overtime, junior forward Katherine Sheeleigh, the Crimson’s leading scorer, dished the ball to Baskind on the left side of the field. The forward dribbled ahead and fired from eight yards out past the Columbia goalie for the game winner.

“She pulled through with a few amazing goals,” co-captain Lizzy Nichols said. “She…is one of those players who can bring that extra spark to the game that we need sometimes.”

Baskind’s first tally of the game came just 10 minutes in. Last year’s Ivy Rookie of the Year wouldn’t need any help, as she dribbled past Lion defenders from 18 yards out before whipping the ball into the right side of the net to give Harvard the 1-0 lead.

And up until the match’s final seconds, the single goal appeared to be all the Crimson would need.

But with the visitors just 15 seconds from celebration, Columbia’s Lauren Cooke headed the ball past Crimson senior goalkeeper Lauren Mann off a free kick to even the score in the 90th minute.

Baskind wasn’t surprised.

“It was almost just like ‘of course that would happen,’” she said. “When [Columbia scored] it was just kind of like, ‘I shouldn’t be surprised right now,’ because of the way things have been going this season.”

But Baskind and the rest of the Harvard team responded well to the new challenge. The overtime golden goal was the only shot the Crimson needed in the extra session to return from New York with a trophy all for itself.

Harvard had clinched a share of the Ivy League title the prior weekend with its victory over Dartmouth, but it came to Columbia hungry for an outright title after sharing last season’s championship with Princeton.