Field Hockey falls to Wake Forest in First Round of NCAAs

The No. 16 Harvard field hockey team refused to go down silently at No. 4 Wake Forest on Saturday morning, the Crimson's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991.

The resilient Crimson squad overcame deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in the game's first 40 minutes, but Harvard (12-6, 6-1 Ivy) could not stop Wake Forest (17-3) down the stretch. The Demon Deacons scored three unanswered goals and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 6-3 win.

"I'm proud of our team," co-captain Liz Sarles said. "It was one of our best games all season. Everyone thought we had a chance if we played well, but we hadn't played anyone of [Wake Forest's] caliber in four years."

The turning point of the game came soon after the third Harvard comeback. Wake Forest called a timeout and drastically switched around its players in the forward and midfield positions.

"The fact that one of the best teams in the country had to completely change its game in order to beat us was really flattering," Sarles said.

Play had been relatively even up until that point, but after the timeout, the Harvard defense was caught off-guard by the Demon Deacon's new attack.

"They switched people around on offense, and it really confused our defense," Sarles said. "They were trying more long passes, and we were leaving people unmarked. It was just a lack of communication on our part."

Wake Forest forward Kelly Doton, who drew first blood against the Crimson six minutes into the match, netted the game-winner with 23 minutes left.

Five minutes later, forward Jenny Shelton added an insurance goal for Wake Forest. Then Doton finished off a hat trick with eight minutes left to put the game out of reach.

"I think that when we were able to settle down and recognize our play, we controlled and dominated the game," Wake Forest Coach Jennifer Averill said. "I want to give credit to Harvard for coming back against some adverse situations. They really took advantage of our team when we weren't organized."

Every time Wake Forest took the lead early in the game, the Harvard offense responded. The team was pleasantly surprised that it was able to match one of the nation's best teams in a goal-by-goal fight.

"Each time they scored, we got fired up, and every time we scored we were a little incredulous and we let up," Sarles said. "That's why there was that pattern with them scoring and then us scoring."

The Crimson took advantage of what few penalty corners it had to stay in the game as long as it did. Harvard only had three corners on the day, while Wake Forest had eight.

"We knew we wouldn't get many chances against a team like Wake Forest, so we practiced our penalty corners a lot," Sarles said. "It was great to score on two of our three corners. We spent about half our practice working on them."

Junior back Katie Turck tallied the first Crimson goal eight minutes after the Demon Deacons had taken the initial lead. Turck, who always passes the ball in from the end line on the penalty corners, rushed the net after Sarles' initial shot and scored by driving in a ball that had been resting by the Wake Forest keeper's pads.

Fittingly, the Harvard co-captains, Sarles and Maisa Badawy, would score the final two Crimson goals of the season. With seven minutes left in the first half--10 minutes after the Demon Deacons had taken the lead with their second goal off of a corner--Harvard earned its second corner of the game.

"Right before that corner, Maisa came up to me and said, 'I have a good feeling about this,'" Sarles said. "She's never done that. It really got me pumped up."

Sarles converted a direct shot off the penalty corner to tie the game. Turck and Badawy earned the assists.

"Katie had a perfect pass, Maisa had a perfect stop, and the ball was just there and I hit it well enough to get it into the net," Sarles said.

Wake Forest scored its third go-ahead goal of the day early in the second half. Six minutes later, Badawy and freshman forward Kate McDavitt, teamed up to net the equalizer.

McDavitt, taking the ball after a free hit, maneuvered through an entourage of Demon Deacon defenders and passed off to Badawy in front of the net, where she lifted the ball over the Wake Forest keeper for the final Crimson goal.

The tourney closed out the careers of Sarles, Badawy and forward Kate Nagle. This year's senior class led Harvard to its first six-win Ivy campaign--good for second place--and its most successful season since 1991.

"It was a fun game for us to finish out," Sarles said.

Badawy and sophomore back Katie Scott were awarded first-team All-Ivy honors this past week. Nagle, McDavitt, and freshman keeper Katie Zacarian all made the second team.