Field Hockey Falls to Massachusetts in Season Opener

The Harvard field hockey team did not register a shot until the 37th minute of the game and failed to record a shot on goal all night in its 3-0 loss to No. 14 Massachusetts (4-0) in the Crimson’s (0-1) season opener Friday night at Richard F. Garber Field in Amherst, MA.

The Minutewomen were in control of the game from the start as the Massachusetts offense took 12 shots and received nine corners in the first half.  Though senior goalkeeper Jenn Hatfield had six saves in the first stanza, it was not enough to keep the Minutewomen off the board as Massachusetts scored twice off of corners in the span of six minutes.

Junior back Lauren Allymohamed started the scoring for the Minutewomen in the 25th minute off an assist from freshman midfielder Charlotte Vereist.  In the 31st minute, sophomore midfielder Brooke Sabia made the score 2-0 in favor of Massachusetts.

The Minutewomen served as a tough first test for Harvard and second-year coach Tjerk van Herwaarden as Massachusetts is considered to be one of the strongest teams on the Crimson’s schedule this year.

“Playing a tough opponent early on really exposes your weaknesses and shows you what you need to work on,” junior forward Noel Painter said. “We came in with the mentality of trying to upset them and start off the season strong, and though it didn’t work out we saw a lot of stuff in the game film that we can work on moving forward.”

With the Minutewomen dominating the possession battle early on, Harvard struggled to force Massachusetts into turnovers for much of the first half. Sophomore back Elizabeth Jacobson attributed much of the Crimson’s early struggles to the speed at which the Minutewomen operated.

“There is definitely an adjustment period shifting from practice to the first real game,” Jacobson said. “Massachusetts plays very quickly, and that only added to the changes we needed to make.”

Harvard came out stronger in the second half and immediately received back-to-back shots from freshman forward Marissa Balleza and junior forward Kaitlyn Boudah.

The increased presence of the Crimson’s attack would have no effect on the outcome of the game however, and the Minutewomen put the game away in the 69th minute with a goal from freshman forward Izzie Delario that made it 3-0.

“The biggest adjustment we made at halftime was changing our mindset,” Painter said. “In the first ten minutes of the game we played well, and then we just got flat going into halftime. I feel like we came out and picked it up in the second half and tried to get every 50/50 ball.”

Harvard’s offense finished the night with only four shots, two of which occurred in the final 10 minutes with the game well out of reach. Balleza led the Crimson with two shots in her first collegiate action.

Harvard’s defense allowed Massachusetts 20 shots, but Hatfield came up big time after time on her way to nine saves in only the third start of her career.

“Jenn Hatfield really stepped up in the goal,” Jacobson said. “She had to face a lot of corners and she made some huge stops. Both of our goalies have been working really hard in practice and it showed [against Massachusetts].”

Though no team wants to start the season with a loss, the Crimson contends that the team has learned from the close game against the 14th best team in the nation.

“I think after we make a few minor tweaks and that we are really going to be a force to reckoned with,” Painter said, “Especially when it comes to the Ivy League.”

—Staff writer M. Ty Aderhold can be reached at michaeladerhold@thecrimson.com.