Field Hockey Triumphs Over Lions

The Harvard field hockey team contributed to the Crimson sweep over Columbia this weekend with a 2-1 win on Saturday morning at Lawrence Wien Stadium in New York.

“The spirit of Harvard was definitely in it with all of the teams there,” said sophomore goalkeeper Katie Zacarian. “We had some great goals and we played pretty solidly.”

The Crimson (10-6, 4-2 Ivy) scored the winning goal off of a penalty corner with just five minutes remaining in the game when junior Katie Scott passed to the left side of the circle, where freshman Shelley Maasdorp sent the ball into the goal.

“It was actually really pretty,” said sophomore Jen Ahn. “She just had a beautiful shot.”

Harvard took the initial lead with 11 minutes left in the first half when Ahn sent a free hit from the left side of the circle towards the cage, where junior Philomena Gambale scored the first goal.

The Crimson’s advantage did not last the half, as the Lions (5-11, 1-6 Ivy) tied the game with 2:48 remaining when senior Page McGranahan scored.

“Their goal was off of a pass into the circle that just popped through,” Zacarian said. “Two girls ended up on the goal line and one popped in the loose ball. Our marking was much better after that.”

The Crimson neutralized the threat posed by tri-captains Nikki Campbell and Tina Fernandez, who were selected by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association last week as a North representative and an alternate, respectively, for the North/South Senior All-Star game.

“A lot of how we play depends on individual defense,” Ahn said. “So, the times when that fails and we have mental lapses, goals are scored. We definitely had certain lulls when the intensity wasn’t as high as it should have been.”

The Crimson and the Lions took turns possessing the ball throughout the game, as Columbia and Harvard played out a tight game in the midfield.

“They had a quick midfield,” Ahn said. “They had good transitions and that caught us [off-guard] a few times. They forced us to be a lot quicker on transitions.”

Harvard broke out of the tie with five minutes left in the game, earning the 2-1 win on the corner. Scoring the game-winner off of a penalty corner was particularly satisfying after all the work the Crimson has put into corner execution.

“It was really nice for that to come to fruition after all that work,” Zacarian said.

“Our corners have improved a lot with our options and even our straight shots have gotten a lot better,” Ahn said. “We’ve been scoring off of tips and deflections a lot more. We’ve just gotten a lot better at capitalizing and executing on corners.”

Harvard’s versatility in scoring goals will come in handy today, as the Crimson closes out the regular season on Jordan field against Penn (6-10, 4-2 Ivy) in a game originally scheduled for September 15.

“[Penn is] a physical team and we always rise to the occasion when we play more physical teams,” Zacarian said. “I love seeing our defense react to some of the more physical players and I enjoy playing them too. It adds a new dimension to the game when a team is particularly aggressive.”

No. 7 Princeton secured its eighth Ivy Championship in as many years with a 6-1 win against Penn on Friday night, completing a record of 52-1 against Ivy rivals since 1994. The Tigers earn an automatic NCAA berth with the title, leaving Harvard and Penn to compete for a share of second place in the Ivy League.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” Ahn said. “It has to do a lot with pride in our team and we want to place high in the [Ivy League]. It’s also a big game because we have a large senior class that’s just a huge part of our program.”

Today’s game on Jordan Field begins at 3 p.m.