Athlete of the Week: Kate Mcavitt '04

With a roster barely large enough to field a complete side, the Harvard field hockey team didn't have many places to turn for the added punch in its opening weekend.

But few options are not the same as no options, and the Crimson found a star in the making in freshman forward Kate McDavitt. McDavitt scored four goals this weekend as the Crimson swept the two-game home set, blanking Vermont 4-0 and topping the University of Rhode Island, 6-2.

Her efforts earned her the Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors.

"I was really pleased to help the team like that," McDavitt said. "But my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball."

McDavitt showed flashes of brilliance in the second half of the Vermont game as the only Crimson player to slip one past red-hot Catamount goaltender Holly Colberg in the second half. Colberg faced 13 Crimson shots, but only McDavitt had the finesse to find the back of the net.

The UVM game was just a warm-up, however, as McDavitt notched a hat trick against URI that included the game-winning goal.

The Rams had taken advantage of a lapse in the Crimson defense to start the second half to tie the score at 2-2 (McDavitt had given Harvard the 2-1 lead in the first half). But the freshman refused to allow URI to build any momentum and she answered back at 22:14 on an unassisted goal.

McDavitt is no stranger to stardom. She was a top field hockey and basketball player at Walpole High School in Walpole, Mass. She led her team to three Division 1 State Championships, scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime to bring home the crown her freshman year.

The Crimson can only hope that her golden touch continues in college.