Field Hockey Cruises Over Yale

Whether it was due to the Ivy rivalry, or just a sheer will to get back on the winning track, the Harvard field hockey team came out of the gates firing on all cylinders versus Yale on Saturday.

Within the first ten minutes, senior forward Philomena Gambale sent the ball flying past Krissy Nesburg, Yale’s nationally respected goalie, for her fourth goal of the season. Gambale was assisted on the play by sophomore midfielder Shelley Maasdorp, whose offensive tactics dazzled the Harvard crowd all afternoon.

The Crimson went on to score two more goals off penalty corners before halftime and handily defeated the Elis 3-0.

Harvard (3-1, 2-0 Ivy) held Yale (1-2, 0-2) to a standstill every time the opposition began to put together a decent attack. The Crimson anticipated each movement of the Yale offense, possibly even better than the Elis themselves. The stingy Harvard defense rarely allowed Yale to advance past midfield and allowed just one penalty corner for the match.

After a disappointing loss to Connecticut earlier in the week, the Crimson was looking to bounce back on Saturday. Maasdorp felt that the team was determined to prove that a loss will be a rarity this season.

“UConn made us hungry to win,” Maasdorp said. “So we came out in the first half and played a really great game.”

The first half ended with a flurry of offense from Harvard, as the team scored two goals in the final six minutes. On the sixth Crimson penalty corner of the game, junior forward Kate McDavitt flung the ball into the net off of a feed from Maasdorp.

But the team’s best show of offensive force came with a mere thirty seconds left in the first half. On the eighth and final Crimson penalty corner of the half, Maasdorp scored Harvard’s third goal of the match as time elapsed.

Maasdorp was the primary catalyst behind the Crimson’s first half success. The midfielder played a part in all three of the goals, garnering two assists and putting the final one in the net on her own accord. She has played a role in the last four Harvard goals, dating back to the loss to UConn.

Harvard coach Sue Caples appreciated Harvard’s intensity throughout the first half but felt Yale came out stronger after the break. Though the balance of power shifted slightly, the Crimson defense continued to hold strong with junior goalkeeper Katie Zacarian earning the shutout.

Tactically, Caples was pleased with Harvard’s improved right side attack, though she admitted the team needed to improve on its long passing.

The Crimson, seeking a berth in the NCAA tournament this year, felt it must learn to play a full seventy minutes to contend against tougher competition later in the season. Harvard will aim for that goal in its next matchup at Massachusetts on Wednesday.

—Staff writer Wes Kauble can be reached at kauble@fas.harvard.edu.