Field Hockey Downs Columbia, 5-1, on Senior Day

The day was filled with celebrations from pregame to postgame.

With a 5-1 win over Columbia (8-9; 2-5 Ivy) on Saturday, the Harvard field hockey team (12-5; 7-0), claimed the Ivy league title, and thus a berth into the NCAA tournament. The win also marked the first time the Crimson has finished a season undefeated and untied in conference play. The win was the team’s 12th overall for the season, tying a program record.

The day began with Harvard honoring its eight graduating seniors with an on field ceremony. Forward Sarah Finnemore, forward Mellisa Balleza, forward Clare McClintock, midfielder Kyla Cordrey, midfielder Abbey Thornhill, midfielder Elizabeth Warner, back Sophie van Weede, and back Annie Morefield all played their last games for the Crimson this past Saturday. In that game, these seniors saw a realization of a process that started their freshman years.

“I think it’s so exciting to win I’m so proud of everyone on this team,” Cordrey said. “It’s been a long time for this program and the first time for this team. I knew that this program was transforming when I was a freshman and this was the dream; this was why you choose a program like this.”

Overall, five different players scored for Harvard on Saturday. The five goals were also a season high for the team. In the first half, freshman midfielder Bente van Vlijmen scored the Crimson’s first goal in the 11th minute. Columbia’s only goal of the game came in the 16th minute, as senior forward Katie Ruesterholz equalized for the Lions. However, Harvard replied swiftly, as sophomore midfielder Emily Duarte and sophomore forward Kathleen Young scored back to back goals in the 20th and 21st minute. Van Weede closed out the scoring for the first half with her goal in the 35th minute, and the Crimson went into the half with a 4-1 advantage.

In the second half, the only goal came from sophomore back Olivia Allin, who scored in the 44th minute. All five of Harvard’s goals came off of penalty corner plays.

“It was fantastic,” Harvard coach Tjerk van Herwaarden said. “The goal coming in was to go through the Ivy league unbeaten. From the moment we started the game today, it became clear that we were eager to make it happen. We were really able to dominate the game overall and corners were really sharp today.”

Junior midfielder Ellie Cookson added two assists on the day, giving her 10 for the season. That mark ties her for seventh most in the Harvard record books.

In what was her last regular season game for the team, van Weede also had one of the best games of her career Saturday. The Amsterdam native accumulated five points in the contest, contributing three assists in addition to her goal.

“It’s such a way to go out in the regular season” van Weede said. “It’s been such a huge growth from where we started. Freshman year, we didn’t win that many games in the Ivy league, so I couldn’t have imagined in four short years we’d be here.”

Harvard’s next first opponent in the NCAA tournament has yet to be announced, as the draw occurs on Sunday night (we’ll probably have to change this during edit right?). However, despite the uncertainty, the team is sure of its ability to tackle any opponent.

“I think we’ve played really well and we’ve played to the level that we can,” van Herwaarden said. “We are in a great position to compete with anyone; so it is going to be luck of the draw, but, for now, we’re going to enjoy the moment.”

The team shares its coach’s optimism about the tournament, but also recognize the challenges they face ahead.

“Our season is definitely not over,” Cordrey said. “Now we have bigger dreams, bigger goals, and we just got to keep working towards that.”