Crimson Could Benefit From 'Right' Stuff

Though the Harvard field hockey team has capitalized on the opportunities afforded by penalty corners, the Crimson could help itself even further by utilizing the entire field.

Throughout the first half last night, Harvard dominated on the left side of the field, making the most of the McDavitt duo. But the right side of the field, where the Huskies would be forced to defend the Crimson weak side, went untouched for long intervals.

Attempts to switch the field resulted in UConn possessions a couple of times, and the successful changes looked forced.

“We need to do a better job at continuing the transfer and building up the attack through the midfield,” Harvard coach Sue Caples said.

Harvard’s use of the right side improved in the second half, largely due to effective carries from sophomore Shelley Maasdorp.

Full House

While the Crimson’s midfield dictated ball possession for much of the game, the Huskies limited Harvard’s shot opportunities by cramming defenders into the backfield.

“Connecticut was packing it in a lot so we had to go for the corners,” Caples said. “They had a lot of people in tight so there wasn’t a lot of space for entry balls.”

But Maasdorp managed to maneuver into the circle, dodging the opposition and drawing penalty corners. For example, twelve minutes into the game, she weaved through four defenders and drove the ball straight into the mass of UConn defenders. The ball hit Husky legs and Harvard was rewarded with a corner. The Crimson didn’t score on the penalty, but Maasdorp continued breaking through double teams using what Caples refers to as “finesse.”

“Shelley has great skills, obviously, and good game sense,” Caples said. “She knows what to do with the ball.”

Ahn Her Like Glue

As sophomore Lauren Henderson rolled into Cambridge, she carried with her five of the Huskies’ eight goals this season, including Connecticut’s lone tally against No. 3 Michigan. Last night, junior Jen Ahn didn’t give her any room to work with and Henderson’s only goal came off of a corner.

“Jen’s job was to mark [Henderson] out of the game,” Caples said. “We’ll play a zone defensively from our defensive one-third. But what we do, Jen’s usually in the middle of it.”

In addition to keeping Henderson on a short leash, Ahn also contributed in scoring chances, including a laser of a shot on goal in the last five minutes of the first half.

Henderson showed her frustration, dropping her stick and motioning when calls weren’t made. However, while Harvard marked UConn’s top scorer, the strategy opened things up for the player behind Henderson, No. 18, Abby Ostruza.

“It created a lot of space for [Ostruza],” Caples said.

“A weak-side forward had to come over, and sometimes we were late in that, and she generated a lot of attack for them.”

Strength of Schedule

Game experience is one factor UConn had in its favor from the start. Though the Huskies’ record is nothing to boast about, UConn’s opponents are. Three of the Huskies’ five losses came to top ten teams in Michigan, No. 7 Penn State and No. 8 Iowa.

“They’ve got two games at the highest level,” Caples said of the Huskies’ recent games against Michigan and Iowa.

Caples compared UConn’s game readiness to that of Harvard after the Crimson played then-No. 3 and 7 Michigan and Michigan State.

Harvard will also contend with a number of the top threats in the nation in October, including local rival and national No. 12 Northeastern, No. 18 California-Berkeley, No. 13 Boston College, No. 17 Princeton and No. 5 Wake Forest.

Even unranked teams in the Crimson’s schedule could cause problems—Providence, whom Harvard plays two weeks from now, held Iowa scoreless for 63 minutes last weekend.

—Staff writer Jessica T. Lee can be reached at lee45@fas.harvard.edu.