Field Hockey Edges Penn to Open Ivy

It was dramatic.

It was breathtaking.

It was field hockey.

With eight seconds remaining in overtime, junior Katie Turck knocked in a rebound to lift Harvard over Penn, 3-2.

"Unbelievable," said freshman goaltender Katie Zacarian. "It was exhilarating and just a great sense of relief to finally score."

The Crimson (4-0, 1-0 Ivy) dominated the overtime period, outshooting the Quakers, 9-1, but could not put a shot past freshman goaltender Carrie Wilhelm until the dying seconds.

"It's not that we necessarily played better in overtime," Zacarian said. "It's just that when you go down from 11 to seven players on the field in overtime, you're able to play a possession game. We played smart and took control with great positioning."

At the other end of the field, Zacarian was equally impressive, doubling her save total for the season in the first real test of her young career.

"It was the first time I've really been tested, and it was great to get that experience," Zacarian said. "It's just going to help you for the next game and the next team you face."

Although not challenged significantly in overtime, Zacarian registered 14 saves, including a spectacular game-saving stop late in the second half to force overtime.

"With about 25 seconds left, she lifted the ball 9 or 10 feet in the air towards the top right-hand corner," Zacarian said. "I just leaped and redirected the ball over the cage. It looked really funny but it works really well."

After falling down 2-0 early in the first half, the Crimson rallied with a pair of goals just before halftime.

Freshman forward Kate McDavitt scored her fourth goal of the season to bring the Crimson to within one before Turck tied the game, 2-2, with 4:05 remaining in the half.

"Katie's goal was extremely important," Zacarian said. "In the first five minutes of the game, Penn had a lot of shots, but then we settled down and controlled the rest of the first half, playing our own game."

McDavitt has made a quick start to her rookie campaign, picking up an assist in her first collegiate game before netting a hat trick in Harvard's 6-2 win over Rhode Island last Sunday, earning her Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors.

"It's an amazing opportunity to be able to come in as freshman and contribute right away," Zacarian said. "We've both learned a lot. It's been an awesome experience and a lot of fun."

The real test for the Crimson begins next week, however, when Harvard faces No. 9 Connecticut and the defending Ivy champion Brown.

"We go into any game the same," Zacarian said. "Sure it's a challenge, but it's something that can be surmounted. We go in viewing each other as equal teams."

Although the Crimson showed perseverance in its come from behind victory Saturday, the Crimson did not play as well as it could have early in the game.

"It wasn't that we started slow but we were on a new field," Zacarian said. "It was definitely hard in the beginning. On the road, it's a little difficult with a dry turf. The ball reacts entirely differently than it does on our field."

Whether it was the field or something else, a poor start against either UConn or Brown will not be as easily erased.

Harvard had a similar start to its 1999 campaign, jumping out to a 4-0 record before falling to the then-No. 1 Huskies, 2-1.

If Harvard is to regain the national ranking it lost last year and make a run for the Ivy title, the Crimson will need wins against both the Bears and Huskies. Another moral victory won't do.

Harvard played well against some of the top teams in the country last season, only to fall apart in the final minutes and settle for moral wins.

If this season is going to be any different, this team will know one way or the other by next Monday.

"I feel like the competition has gotten progressively harder every game," Zacarian said. "It's a great way to start the season, and I think we're ready for the challenge next week."

In many ways, the Crimson's scrappy, come-from-behind victory and dominating performance in overtime said more about this team than a one-sided blowout could ever reveal.

"To come back from a one-goal--let alone a two-goal--deficit shows a lot of experience and character," Zacarian said. "To come back from any sort of deficit gives us a lot of confidence heading into next week."

In its final Ivy game last season, Harvard scored a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory at Brown.

The game meant nothing to Harvard, but stole sole possession of the Ivy title away from Brown on a goal by senior co-captain Maisa Badawy with 10 seconds remaining in overtime.

Despite the graduation of key seniors, strong early season performances from newcomers McDavitt and Zacarian have ensured that this squad will be at least as competitive as last year's.

Whether it can win the games that matter, however, still remains to be seen.