Harvard Halts Huskies Behind Defensive Effort

Fresh off two losses in a row—the Harvard field hockey team’s first consecutive-game losing streak of the season—the Crimson entered a non-league test against Northeastern yesterday afternoon looking to regain its momentum in what has been a return to Ivy prominence this season.

The Crimson did just that, prevailing in a road matchup with the Huskies on the strength of a breakout performance by freshman midfielder Chloe Keating. Spurred by Keating’s late goal and assist on the following score, Harvard (6-4) snapped its two-game losing skid with a 2-0 victory over Northeastern (4-7) at nearby at Sweeney Field.

The win was as much about regional bragging rights as it was about wins and losses for the Crimson, a team that has already scored more goals this season than all of last year.

“This was a big win for Boston area competition,” said senior captain Jana Berglund. “The team as a whole stepped up.”

The game was marked by solid defense. The Crimson’s first chance came on an early penalty corner, but junior Francine Polet’s shot missed just left. The teams then traded attacks throughout a first half which featured few scoring opportunities.

Northeastern (4-7) had a 4-2 halftime advantage in shots and both teams tallied a pair of penalty corners heading into the intermission.

The second half provided more drama, with Harvard surviving several Husky scoring opportunities. In the opening minutes of the half, Northeastern threatened with two penalty corners, but junior goalie Kylie Stone stopped both shots. Later, a threatening pass deflected off a Crimson stick, but Stone again thwarted the scoring chance by kicking the ball clear.

The defensive struggle continued until the 56th minute, when Harvard notched the game’s first score. On a free hit, sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Goodman-Bacon sent a pass to Keating, who buried the deciding goal from the top half of the circle.

Minutes later, Harvard tacked on some insurance.

This time, Keating was on the delivering end, deflecting senior captain Devon Shapiro’s shot to sophomore midfielder Kristin Bannon, who notched her third goal of the season.

Northeastern had its chances throughout the game, including more shots, 6-5, and more penalty corners, 5-3, than the Crimson. However, Stone stonewalled the Husky attack, registering five saves while earning her second shutout of the year.

Yesterday’s win was especially sweet for Harvard, as it snapped a five-game losing streak to the Huskies. The season has been marked by steady improvement by the Crimson.

“It was really great that we won today,” Berglund said. “We were able to work through a lot of the things we were having problems with.”

This game was the fourth non-Ivy victory for Harvard this season, which comes on the heels of a winless non-conference season last year. The Crimson holds the top spot in the Ivy League so far this season after home wins over Penn and Brown.

Harvard will get a short break before traveling Ithaca, N.Y. on Sunday to play second-place Cornell in a battle for Ivy supremacy. Start-time for the contest is scheduled for 12 p.m.