13 Goals Power Women's Hockey Victories

The Crimson is now alone in second place.

No. 6 Harvard (17-4-2, 14-3-1 ECAC) took over sole possession of runner-up position in the ECAC this weekend by taking care of business in two easy road victories against Union and RPI.

“In our position right now,” co-captain Jennifer Sifers said, “we don’t get the chance to play anyone above us in the rankings. So it’s more important to focus within the ECAC.”

Sifers led the way with her first career hat trick in a 8-1 win over the Dutchwomen (4-22-0, 0-18-0) on Friday night and sophomore Sarah Vaillancourt potted three goals of her own the next day in a 5-1 dismissal of the Engineers (12-16-1, 8-9-1).

Eleven different players tallied points and all three goalies on the roster saw action as the squad tried to round back into shape following a period of relative inactivity in January. Now just two weekends remain on the conference schedule for the Crimson to jockey for prime postseason seeding.

Harvard meets No. 9 Boston College in Chestnut Hill in the opening round of the Beanpot Tournament at 8 p.m. tomorrow.

“They beat us last year in the Beanpot,” Sifers said of BC. “So right now it’s payback. It’s a huge game for us.”

HARVARD 5, RPI 1

After a sluggish start, the Crimson rallied behind Vaillancourt to pull away down the stretch. Harvard fell behind 1-0 midway through the second period but tied the score later in the frame and used a natural hat trick from Vaillancourt to bury the Engineers in the third period.

It was Vaillancourt’s third hat trick of the season and her second against RPI, bumping her season goals total to 20.

With the score knotted at 1, on a power play just 30 seconds into final period, Vaillancourt buried the game-winner off assists from seniors Katie Johnston and Julie Chu. She made it 3-1 at the 5:13 mark, beating netminder Ashley Mayr off a feed from freshman Kathryn Farni. Vaillancourt threw in an empty-net goal with just over a minute left to finish the trifecta.

“She’s holding up her end of things,” Sifers said of Vaillancourt. “That line—with Julie Chu and Jenny Brine—has so much potential. We switched up lines earlier in the year but Coach [Katey Stone] decided to move them back together. Julie Chu is such an amazing passer [that] she sets up plays, and Sarah and Jenny both know how to put the puck in the net.”

The Engineers seized the game’s first lead on a power-play strike from Brooke Thompson, but junior Laura Brady answered with her first goal of the season to tie the contest heading into the second intermission.

Rookie Cori Bassett found the net with a mere two seconds remaining to cap off the scoring.

Chu’s early helper made it 25 straight games with a point for the senior, including all 20 of her appearances this season.

Christina Kessler made 11 saves in her sixth win of the year.

HARVARD 8, UNION 1

Sifers paced the Crimson with the first three-goal outing of her career and the floodgates opened in the third period as Harvard ran away from last-place Union.

Sifers initiated the scoring with a goal at the 6:05 mark of the opening frame on an assist from sophomore Sarah Wilson, who netted a goal of her own on a 4-on-4 later in the period to push the lead to 2-0.

The senior tallied the lone goal of the second period on the power play, connecting with Liza Solley and Wilson. This second power-play unit notched both of the squad’s special teams scores as Harvard went 2-of-10 on the evening with the man advantage.

After Sifers bumped the edge to 4-0 early in the third, the Crimson sandwiched four more goals around the Dutchwomen’s first-ever goal against Harvard. Vaillancourt scored two goals, and Chu and Johnston added one apiece. Wilson finished with four points on a goal and three assists.

Union’s goal came after the starter in net, sophomore Brittany Martin, was pulled and junior reserve Kristin Toretta had come on in relief. The untested Toretta, with only 20 minutes of collegiate experience, allowed Suzy Pocock’s eighth of the season in addition to making two saves.

“It’s great for the team to get a chance to get some people involved,” Sifers said.

Martin made 14 stops in 47 minutes of work, while Dutchwomen goalie Amanda Hanson wound up with 51 saves as the Crimson held a 59-17 advantage in shots.

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.