Second-half Rally Keys Field Hockey Win

Despite a frustrating scoreless first half and a 1-0 deficit early in the second, the Harvard field hockey team (6-2, 3-0 Ivy) caught fire midway through the second half to beat Penn (1-5, 0-3), 3-1 on Saturday.

The Crimson collected its fourth win in four games on the new synthetic turf of Jordan Field, and is now tied with five-time defending champion Princeton for first place in the Ivy.

The Crimson failed to score until 22:19 remained in the second half, after Penn had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by midfielder Leah Bills at 33:17 of the second.

The Crimson went ahead 2-1 on the strength of two goals within two minutes of one another by junior forward Kate Nagle and tri-captain Dominique Kalil, who each netted her sixth of the season. Nagle has now scored in six consecutive games.

With 10:45 remaining in the game, sophomore forward Katie Turck sealed the game with her first career goal.

Although Harvard had many chances to score in the first half--both on breakaways and penalty corners--it was not able to capitalize on any of the opportunities.

"We were sluggish in the first half; we just weren't very hungry to win," said tri-captain Anya Cowan, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week last week.

"The team needed to make some adjustments," said Harvard Coach Sue Caples. "We needed to step up to the ball and be first to it, and to open up the field."

Harvard was using a very limited part of the field in the first half, Caples said, and not passing well.

But Harvard came out poised in the second half. The Crimson started to use its exceptional passing game to its advantage by using a greater width of the field than it had in the first and placing its forwards better by putting them higher up on the field. The team also put more pressure on the Penn defense by stepping up closer on Penn's 16-yard hits.

The offense responded too, outshooting the Quakers 14-4 and earning 17 corners to Penn's one in the second half.

Although Harvard came out strong in the second, Penn scored first, a little less than two minutes into the half, to make it 1-0 on Bills' third of the season, assisted by Courtney Martin and Ken Murray.

At 22:19, taking Penn's goal as a wake-up call, Harvard finally turned one of its offensive drives into a goal. Nagle finished off a shot from freshman forward Philomena Gambale by lifting the ball above Penn goalkeeper Alison Friedman, who was sprawled out on the ground after saving the initial shot.

With the game tied 1-1, the Crimson seemed only to get to get more aggressive. At 20:26, Kalil scored what would end up being the game-winner. Taking a rebounded shot that sophomore midfielder Eliza Dick passed her way, Kalil pushed the ball under the goalie's pads for her 18th point of the season, best on the team.

"I think a defender ran in front of the goalie and screened her so she couldn't see the ball," Kalil said. "Then I just tapped it in."

Then, with 10:45 left, Turck scored her first career collegiate goal to seal the game. Harvard had a penalty corner on which Friedman saved Turck's initial shot. But Turck didn't miss on the next chance, as she drove the ball past Friedman on an assist from sophomore midfielder Heather Hussey.

"We really stepped up its play in the second half; we cut to the ball more and picked up the play," Turck said.

Cowan said that her team's success in the second half was due to its more aggressive play, compared to the first half.

"We started being first to the ball, and the forwards did a better job cutting to the ball," Cowan said.

With 10 minutes left, Caples substituted many of her regular players with players who haven't seen as much game time during the season. And, with 5:00 left, junior Jen Crusius replaced the regular starter Cowan in goal. Cowan made four saves in 65 minutes.

"There are no real substitutes on this team," Caples said. "All the players on the team could start, but you just get into certain rotations that work. I wish the game were 10 minutes longer, so that they could have played for longer. All the players on this team work hard all week. The second half was the strongest 35 minutes of the season and a lot of people were able to contribute."

"The defense did an incredible job," Kalil added. "They pressed a lot and helped put pressure on the ball."

Wednesday, the team hosts Quinnipiac, and then it embarks on the long road trip to Cornell next Saturday.

Cornell (4-3, 2-1) needed overtime to beat last-place Columbia Saturday in Ithaca, getting a 4-3 victory.