F. Hockey Splits New England Foes

The Harvard field hockey team embarked on its journey to another NCAA bid with a solid win at home against Vermont on Friday, but settled for a record of 1-1 after its loss to New Hampshire yesterday on Jordan Field in a battle of recent tournament qualifiers.

New Hampshire 1, Harvard 0

The lone goal was scored with 10:05 left in the game when sophomore Jennifer Peyser took a shot from the right side of the cage. Harvard goalkeeper Katie Zacarian saved it, but Peyser beat her on the rebound, taking the Wildcats to victory.

The second half of the game was peppered with action on both sides of the field, as both teams surrendered penalty corners and ample scoring opportunities without benefit for the Crimson.

“We didn’t make the best decisions,” said Harvard Coach Sue Caples. “We have to have that ability to execute under pressure, to have that poise, to create good scoring opportunities.”

One opportunity came for the Crimson at an unlikely point in the game—while New Hampshire played a penalty corner just one minute before scoring the winning goal.

Harvard broke up the Wildcats’ play to pass the ball out of its defensive end on a breakaway to New Hampshire’s goal. But the Crimson’s momentum was stopped short when Wildcat Kaitlin Carney halted the attack and sent the ball back to Harvard’s end of the field.

“We had many opportunities,” Caples said. “At the very end there, we had a five-on-one [situation] and we didn’t even get a shot off. To have a five-on-one and not get anything is terrible.”

Harvard had many other chances to score among its 19 shots and nine penalty corners, coming close to scoring again and again on a goal called back, a reverse chip that almost tied the game, and several drives that passed just wide with and without goalies in goal.

“There’s no doubt we missed three open nets,” Caples said. “Some days that happens and it’s unlucky.”

While the Crimson returns last year’s celebrated defense, it has a few kinks to work out before facing the foes to come.

“I think we gave New Hampshire a lot of opportunities,” Caples said. “Their dangerous play, their shots, their corners were off of mistakes that we will need to eliminate if we’re going to be able to achieve our opportunities and our goals this year.”

Sophomore Katie Zacarian, a second team All-Ivy selection last year, held off New Hampshire’s attack with 15 saves, including impressive back-to-back saves in the first half of the game. Zacarian continues to demonstrate her prowess by foiling one-on-one plays, coming out of goal at the right times, and stopping shots from high flicks to drives across the circle.

Zacarian is supported by her strong defense, in which junior Katie Scott and senior Sarah Luskin stood out. The Crimson’s attack was aided by the defense’s potent clears out of Harvard’s end and several blatant steals from the Wildcats in the midfield.

“Jen Ahn [has been] really solid and consistent in the midfield, really a nice playmaker,” Caples said.

But while the Crimson put forth a good effort against the Wildcats, it was far from its best.

“I felt we were just a little slow,” Caples said. “We were standing around watching a little bit when we do a little bit better job usually of running and creating. So therefore I think New Hampshire beat us to a lot of balls.”

Another troubling point for the Crimson during its first two games has been the ineffectiveness of its penalty corners. Harvard has been awarded 20 penalty corners in its first two games with little success.

“We’ve clearly got to do a little bit more work on our corners but we’ve got some great options in the works and those should be really effective,” said sophomore forward Mina Pell.

“It’s just execution and we need to keep practicing,” Caples said.

One setback for the Crimson has been the injuries that have kept key players side-lined during the first two games. Captain Jane Park and sophomore Kate McDavitt are two threats that have been sorely missed in Harvard’s offensive ends.

“We’re rehabbing and looking to have them return soon,” Caples said

Harvard 3, Vermont 1

Harvard opened its season with a dominating win against the Catamounts, though the results of the game were mixed.

Less than two minutes had passed in the game before Pell tallied the first of her two goals. Junior Philomena Gambale passed the ball across goal from the right side of the circle and Pell finished off the play with a goal.

With 7:05 remaining in the half, Vermont freshman Meghan Carey passed the pass from the top of the circle to sophomore Katie Henry who was waiting by the left side of the goal. Henry pushed the ball past the right of Zacarian to tie the game 1-1.

But with 5:08 until halftime, Pell broke out of a mob in front of the goal to push the ball past junior Holly Colberg, giving the Crimson a 2-1 lead at the half.

Harvard got a fast start in the second half when Gannon stole the ball in the left midfield and sent it into New Hampshire’s circle, leading to a penalty corner.

Just a minute and a pass from the right later, Egnaczyk scored an unassisted goal at 32:52 to bring the Crimson to a 3-2 advantage.

“The freshmen have been really stepping it up,” Pell said. “We’ve got a really great young class coming in who’ve been contributing a lot, especially in the midfield. Developing them more is going to be an awesome asset to the team.”

While Harvard outshot Vermont 26-7 and toyed with effective passing combinations, including the work of Gambale and sophomore Diana Bowen in the right alley during the second half, the Crimson wasn’t quite up to speed.

“This was a place to start,” Caples said. “We’re capable of playing at a much higher level. The speed of this game today was a little bit slow.”

The Crimson also had a bit of a scare during the second half when Zacarian came out of goal to ward off the Wildcats. Zacarian finished the game with one save on Vermont’s three shots.

“We were sloppy,” Caples said. “We were not taking care of the ball as well as we needed to be.”

Harvard’s defense held New Hampshire to its slight shot tally with one unusual addition to its talented defense.

“Heather Hussy played an unbelievable game at left back,” Caples said. “That kid has never played back there in her life and she was brilliant.”

A strong midfield and great play up the middle bolstered the Crimson’s game, along with senior Natalia Berry, who added further experience to the team. So though Harvard hoped for more, it still came through with the win.

The Crimson benefited from its season-opener against Vermont last year, with a 4-0 win that set off its incredible season.

Harvard will face Providence on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on Jordan Field.