Friars Best Crimson, End Home Streak

In muggy, 77-degree conditions, Harvard field hockey battled against Providence College in a non-conference contest under the lights at Jordan Field.

The Crimson (5-3, 2-0 Ivy) fell, 3-1, to the Friars (7-3, 1-0 Big East), who claimed their third straight win in team head-to-head history.

With the win, Providence also managed to snap Harvard’s four-game home winning streak.

The Friars came in fighting and wasted no time scoring as freshman Julie Ruggieri knocked in a loose ball to the lower left of the net just over a minute into the game.

“The first five minutes of a game are really critical,” coach Sue Caples said. “Both teams typically don’t give up much, but we kind of sat back and Providence played with a greater sense of urgency. They really set the tone of the game.”

The quick tally marked the first of two Providence goals in the first half—the second coming after a two penalty corners with under a minute to go before the mid-play break.

Between the Friar bookend goals of the first frame, junior back Francine Polet slapped in a shot off a penalty corner to even the score at one and earn the Crimson’s only goal of the game.

Polet’s tally, her second of the season, was assisted by midfielders sophomore Kristin Bannon and co-captain Jana Berglund, each earning her fourth assist this year.

The sprinklers at halftime not only cooled off the turf field, but Harvard’s offense as well.

“The first half was pretty evenly matched, but we didn’t do anything really in the second half. Providence really controlled the second half of play,” Caples said. “They moved the ball better and were in our defensive end quite a bit, and we didn’t generate any attack.”

While the Crimson kept its opponents to a single goal in the second half, it was unable to create many threatening offensive opportunities.

Harvard mustered only three shots in the later frame, while Providence put up seven.

“We came out flat tonight and Providence came out strong,” co-captain Devon Shapiro said. “They’re a very good team and they took advantage of that.”

On the other side of the action, the last 35 minutes of the game saw a lot of play in Harvard’s defensive end.

“[Goalkeeper] Kylie [Stone] had some big saves,” Shapiro said. “We put her in some tough positions at times and she came out great so it was a great game for her.”

Stone held up her defensive game in a six-save effort, five of which came in the second frame.

Although Providence out-shot Harvard, 10-6, Stone out-saved Friars’ two goalkeepers, who switched at the half, 6-1, in her full 70 minutes of play. Stone now has a total of 33 saves on the season.

Although not playing up to its full potential, Harvard put up a good fight against the Big East squad who made it to the division championships last fall.

The Crimson seeks to increase its level of play as competition remains high next Sunday when the squad travels to the University of Vermont in its first of five straight road games.

—Staff writer Kara T. Kelley can be reached at kkelley@fas.harvard.edu.