Park Makes a Splash as Field Hockey Buries Friars

A stifling Crimson defense posted its second consecutive shutout and the Crimson offense exploded for four second-half goals to propel the Harvard field hockey team to a 5-0 rout of Providence College (11-7) yesterday at Jordan Field.

Five different Crimson players netted goals as Harvard (9-6, 3-2 Ivy) matched its highest scoring output an d largest margin of victory of the season.

Crimson captain Jane Park, who missed the team’s first 11 games while recovering from a knee injury, picked up the first goal of her final campaign just over a minute into the second half.

With Harvard up 1-0, sophomore midfielder Jen Ahn sent a pass to Park at the top of the circle. The Crimson captain avoided a Friar defender and buried a shot in the back of the cage for a 2-0 Crimson lead.

After the game, Park said she was glad to get back on the field with her teammates and pick up a goal.

“It was easy because I was set up very nicely by Jen Ahn,” Park said. “I’m just happy to be out on the field again.”

The Crimson played solid in the early going and created several good scoring chances, but Friar goalie Meaghan Moran was up to the task and made four saves in the first 10 minutes of the game.

After the teams traded scoring opportunities, Harvard finally dented the scoreboard with just under six minutes remaining in the half . Sophomore forward Mina Pell tipped in a shot by junior forward Philomena Gambale to give the Crimson a 1-0 advantage.

The goal, Pell’s ninth of the season, gave Harvard the momentum it used to dominate a dejected Providence squad in the second half.

In the 42nd minute, freshman midfielder Kate Gannon led a breakaway into the circle and sent a pass across to Gambale who fired a shot between the legs of Moran to up the Harvard advantage to 3-0.

The Friars best scoring chance of the second half came with 12 minutes remaining when leading scorer Jennifer Chin broke in alone on the net, but Crimson sophomore goalie Katie Zacarian dove out to break up the play and preserve the shutout.

Gannon scored the first of two late Crimson tallies when she chased down a pass in the circle and found the cage to make the score 4-0 in the 61st minute.

Sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Andrews rounded out the scoring on a Crimson penalty corner with just over four minutes remaining.

Another stellar effort by the Crimson defense complemented the offensive outburst and held Providence’s talented ball-handlers in check for most of the contest.

Fresh off a shutout in a 1-0 victory over Boston University on Sunday, the defense limited the Friars to only four shot attempts on the day, while Harvard peppered the net with 24 shots. The Crimson also held a 10-3 advantage in penalty corners.

Zacarian made two saves to record her fifth shutout this season, and freshman Anne Haig saw her first collegiate action late in the game.

Harvard Coach Sue Caples was pleased with the team’s consistent effort early in the first half and thought Pell’s goal was important because it gave the Crimson firm control of the game.

“We came out strong and we were dominating and we were controlling but we weren’t finishing,” Caples said. “It was nice to put one in at the end [of the first half].”

Park also believes that the team is learning to play more consistently at this point in the season.

“[After a 4-2 loss to Dartmouth,] we knew we had to be more consistent and play at a higher level all the time, and we’ve done that,” Park said.

The game against the Friars was originally scheduled for earlier in the season but was postponed after the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Harvard returns to action on Saturday morning when the team travels to Columbia to face off against the Lions.