Field Hockey Not Sharp But Victorious

When the Harvard field hockey team looks back on this season, Saturday's 3-2 victory over Providence will not be remembered as the squad's best game. The Crimson barely had any offense for most of the first half and gave up two goals in the last three minutes, a let-down that would have been deadly in a closer match.

But the win may be remembered as the team's most important. Off the heels of a two-game losing streak and a five-half scoreless streak, Harvard (2-3, 0-0 Ivy) needed lots of goals and, above all, a victory.

Those it got, and although a team better than Providence probably would have defeated Harvard on Saturday, the Crimson mucked out the win. That's all that is important.

"It was not a pretty game," Harvard coach Sue Caples said. "Neither team would have liked to put its signature on it."

A parable for the entire day was the record-setting performance of co-captain Jessica Milhollin, the Crimson's goaltender. Midway through the first half, she broke Harvard's all-time save record with 577 stops.

The mark is a mixed bag--it's good in the sense that it shows Milhollin's longevity (she has played every minute of every game since freshman year) and the load that the team places on her shoulders, but it is bad in that it is a product of too many shots on net, a problem that has haunted Harvard for the last few years.

The win over Providence was the same idea--it was a general positive, but between the lines one sees some familiar negatives.

Such as the slow start. In Harvard's first victory of the year over Vermont, the Crimson scored three first-half goals. In the two games after that (losses to Duke and UConn), Harvard played well out of the gate but didn't put a ball in the cage--and then watched as its opponent took the momentum away for good.

Saturday, neither team put together a serious attack for the first 10 minutes, when the Friars had the game's first corner. That didn't change anything, though, as both defenses cleared away potential attacks promptly over the next 20 minutes.

In other words, the momentum was sitting there, and for practically half the game neither team took it. Just when it looked like the game was going to be a 0-0 tie, Harvard co-captain Carrie Shumway scored.

The goal was practically startling. Coming with 4:54 left in the half, Shumway broke through a seam in the defense and suddenly slapped a low hummer into the cage.

"Providence made the field smaller," Caples said. "They're a good defensive team, in your face. Carrie did an excellent job of coming down to get the ball through."

With the one-goal advantage, Harvard gradually picked up its play. The Crimson defense effectively banished the Friars from coming anywhere near the net, and the midfielders and attackers did a better job in keeping the ball on the Providence end.

This Produced Harvard's second goal, a penalty corner with 22:32 left by junior Daphne Clark, with Shumway and junior Courtenay Benedict assisting. Clark blasted a shot past Providence goalie Jamie Soteraides and back Kiki Fortier, who was unable to make the defensive save. It was Clark's fourth goal of the season, all corners.

Sixteen minutes later, Harvard's corner struck again. This time, Clark aired a lift shot instead of hitting it hard and low, and the only way Fortier could block it was by raising her stick over her head.

That's illegal, so Shumway got to hit a penalty stroke--a point-blank shot--which she easily converted for her second goal.

With the 3-0 lead, Harvard was rolling. The clock ticked under five minutes, and it looked like Milhollin would fittingly register a shutout on the day she broke the save record.

Didn't happen. A Providence corner resulted in the ball rolling around in front of the net, which Bonnie MacDonald put in for the goal. Then, with only four seconds to go in the game, Fortier blasted a pretty corner shot into the lower right side of the cage, making the game seem closer than it was.

It is true that these late goals did not seriously affect the outcome of the game, but they seriously affected Harvard's view of the game.

"They were just letdowns," Caples said. "They're unacceptable."

The goals put a cynical shade on the win. If Harvard had kept the shutout, then there would at least have been the happiness of winning by a large margin. Instead, the ugliness of the contest was the strongest impression.

"We can get away with and aggressive team without much skill," Milhollin said. "But we'll take [the win]."

Tuesday, Harvard takes on Boston University, consistently a very good team, and then travels to Cornell on Saturday. Now comes the important part of the season, when the Crimson needs to be totally confident about its play. The Providence game provided a base for that, which is better than nothing.. HARVARD, 3-2 at Cumnock Field. Providence  0  2  --  2 Harvard  1  2  --  3

First Half

Har--Shumway 2 (no assist) 4:54.

Second Half

Har--Clark 4 (Shumway, Benedict) 22:32.

Har--Shumway 3 (Gudeman) 6:23.

Prov--MacDonald (no assist) 2:52.

Prov--Fortier (no assist) :04

Saves: Prov--Soteraides 5; Har--Milhollin 10. Providence  2 Harvard  3

First Half

Har--Shumway 2 (no assist) 4:54.

Second Half

Har--Clark 4 (Shumway, Benedict) 22:32.

Har--Shumway 3 (Gudeman) 6:23.

Prov--MacDonald (no assist) 2:52.

Prov--Fortier (no assist) :04

Saves: Prov--Soteraides 5; Har--Milhollin 10. Providence  2 Harvard  3