Field Hockey Prepares for Crucial Home Date with Princeton

As Harvard coach Tjerk van Herwaarden called it, “the battle of the unbeatens” will take place this Saturday at Berylson Field. The No. 13 Harvard field hockey team (10-3, 4-0 Ivy League) will take on No. 14 Princeton (8-6, 4-0) in a pivotal, high-stakes matchup of the Ancient Eight’s two remaining unbeaten teams.

Harvard is coming off a nail-biting 4-3 overtime victory against Cornell, in which freshman Mimi Tarrant scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime. Tarrant earned both Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Week honors for her performance. The first-year leads Ivy League freshmen in points with 22 (eight goals, six assists). Princeton is also entering the contest after a victory in its last contest, in which it defeated Northeastern, 3-0.

“We powered through and even though it wasn’t the prettiest hockey, we learned that we could still show such determination, and I think this game this weekend is going to be about who wants it more,” senior midfielder Hannah Wellington said. “We showed in the Cornell game that we can make that decision and that we can really power through a game and have that grit and determination through our play.”

Both Harvard and Princeton have topped Yale and Brown on the season. The Crimson also has secured victories over Penn and Cornell while the Tigers have bested Dartmouth and Columbia.

“We’ve built a lot of momentum as the season has gone on, so we’ve been excited after each game," senior goalkeeper Olivia Startup said. We know how important this game against Princeton is, and, if anything, that just makes it more exciting, regardless of all our results in the past.”

Last year, Harvard bested Princeton in a 3-2 overtime thriller. Then-sophomore Kathleen Young powered the Crimson offense, scoring two goals, including the game-winner just 59 seconds into overtime. Last year’s win snapped Harvard’s 22-game losing streak against Princeton, a streak that began in 1994. Young will be absent on the field in this year’s matchup after she tore her ACL against Brown earlier this season.

Although the Tigers boast a high-powered offensive attack, Harvard is focused on preparing for its own game to counteract Princeton.

“We call it double-defense, so you have one job, but you’re also there to help someone out if maybe they get beat or you’re going into a double team,” Wellington said. “It’s about selfless play and making sure you’re doing everything to not only help yourself do well but also help your teammates do their best job by aiding in every way you can. So, we’re definitely working on that and just making sure that we’re always doing our role, which is helping each other throughout the entire game.”

Both teams feature high-octane offenses. Princeton’s offense will be led by Ryan McCarthy, who has notched 12 goals on the season. The Crimson has scored at a torrid pace as well, averaging 4.1 goals per game on the year.

“We will be working hard in practice this week to come up with a plan to take away those threats and also be able to play our game as well,” van Herwaarden said. “These are two teams that are very evenly matched on a player-to-player basis, so I think coming up with a good, solid plan and making sure the small, little details fall more in our favor than in theirs will be the difference in the outcome.”

For Harvard to emerge victorious, all facets of the game must come together against the talented Tiger squad.

“If you look at our season so far, the majority of games, we’ve been able to find the goal fairly easy, which is great,” van Herwaarden said. “I think we’ve also shown that we are really capable of playing really good and solid defense. I think the combination of those two will have to be in place to get ourselves the best shot against a very good team. I think the team will be ready to reach their full potential to be ready for this game.”