Field Hockey Loses Defensive Battle Against Penn

It was a goalie’s game on Saturday afternoon when Harvard field hockey (3-3, 1-1 Ivy) faced Penn (6-1, 2-0) at home, but only one of the keepers escaped unscathed. With less than ten minutes left in the first half, a shot from Penn sophomore attack Elizabeth Hitti ricocheted off the post and gave the Quakers a lead they never relinquished.

“It came off a penalty corner [and] we tried to outlet it [but] it was just a failed outlet,” Crimson goalkeeper Jenn Hatfield said of the lone goal. “When the corner came it was a drag flick to the top left corner of the cage; my stick side. I made an attempt at it [but] it hit the post, pulling me out of position and went straight to the other side. It was a tipper wide open on the opposite post.”

It was the only goal of the game as Penn held on to win 1-0.

Hatfield was the highlight of the Harvard defense as she had 10 saves in the game. She has played every minute so far this season, allowing a league-low 1.6 goals per game.

Despite the defensive support, the Crimson offense struggled to put balls on net as the side’s woes from the first two games of the 2013 season returned. In those contests, Harvard was outscored 5-1.

For the Quakers, Carly Sokach was a force behind the net with 12 saves, diving and leaping all over the circle to help keep the Crimson scoreless. This was Sokach’s second shutout in the past three games, bringing her average goals against to 1.86.

Both teams remained scoreless in the second half.

“We made two technical changes in the second half which I think went pretty well,” Crimson coach Tjerk van Herwaarden said. “We were able to push strongly in the second half where we were really present in their circle more than they were in ours.”

The Crimson was able to limit Penn to only six shots in the second period, compared to 10 in the first, likely resulting from the adjustments van Herwaarden made at halftime.

Harvard saw several breakaways by sophomore back Elizabeth Jacobson, senior forward Rachael Rosenfeld, and junior midfielder Caitlin Rea. Freshman Marissa Balleza led the Crimson with seven shots, but it was a group offensive effort as six different Harvard players had shots on net.

“There wasn’t anyone that really stuck out,” van Herwaarden said. “It was a team effort.”

A timeout called late in the second half gave Harvard a chance to strategize and create a scoring opportunity, but the team was unable to connect.

“We should have capitalized on one of the chances that we created, and unfortunately that didn’t happen,” van Herwaarden said. “Eventually that’s what the game is all about…We called a timeout and bumped a player up to try and really get some offensive play done, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”

A last chance offensive push gave the Crimson a chance to tie up the game with less than three minutes left. Freshman forward Sarah Finnemore passed the ball off to junior forward Noel Painter in the circle and Painter fired a shot towards the net, but Sokach was able to block the shot to secure a Quaker win.

For Penn, this was a continuation of its winning ways as it came out on top for the fourth consecutive game, while the loss for Harvard ended the team’s previous two game winning streak.

The Crimson will look to get back on track as Ancient Eight play continues on Saturday against Brown.

“We’re really excited to make adjustments and improve, specifically just playing our style,” Hatfield said. “We need to keep moving the ball, keep the ball speed up and we need to finish. We need to take advantage of when we’re open, and we’re going to shoot, and we’re going to score, and we’re going to finish.”