Ranked Foes Spell Field Hockey Woes

In the midst of a tense stalemate at Jordan Field, the Crimson faithful looked like they could have used a few moments to settle down and breathe.

Thanks to 14 penalty corners for No. 6 Connecticut, however, it was their counterparts from the Nutmeg State who ultimately got to sit back and relax.

The No. 18 Harvard field hockey team (4-2) lost 3-1 to the Huskies (8-0) in a marquee battle between two of the top programs in the nation. The loss is the Crimson’s second to a currently-ranked team in as many games. On Sunday, it fell to No. 20 Maine, 2-0.

UConn out-shot the normally high-powered Crimson 17-7 and outpaced Harvard with those crucial penalty corners, 14-4.

“I think that in the second half we gave up too much,” coach Sue Caples said. “And they were awarded some calls, on fouls, that were just outside the circle, so the umpire must have thought they were flagrant fouls.”

But while the officiating drew the ire of a frustrated crowd—at one point, the Huskies were awarded three corners in a row—UConn simply made do with what they had.

The heavy action within the circle resulted in key penalty conversions by senior forward Lauren Henderson, who scored twice on corners for her tenth and 11th goals of the year.

“You just can’t give up corners in a succession like that against a team like Connecticut,” Caples said. “They were just superb on their execution.”

Henderson’s first goal turned out to be the game-winner, breaking a 1-1 tie four minutes into the second half, right after an amazing goal-line defensive save by junior forward Beth Sackovich.

The tally also negated one of the bright spots for Harvard—a clutch, reenergizing score by senior forward Tiffany Egnaczyk at 28:56 on a misdirected stick-stop.

“I just saw an opening on the right and took it,” Egnaczyk said.

Although the score may indicate otherwise, one of the bright spots for the Crimson was in fact the defense, which surrendered just one non-penalty goal against a team that entered the contests outscoring its opponents. The Huskies drew first blood at 18:46 when Meagan Hoffman dumped in a rebound in front of the goal, but stayed silent other than Henderson’s two penalty shots.

A key to that damage control was senior netminder Aliaa Remtilla, who made a series of diving stops throughout the contest in a sparkling 10-save effort.

“Aliaa was on,” Caples said.

The other more subtle key rested in a slight change of strategy.

While Harvard normally doesn’t utilize specific defensive assignments, the Crimson elected to shadow Henderson by shifting captain midfielder Kate Gannon to the right back. The team also succeeded in effectively neutralizing a strong Husky midfield thanks to junior midfielder Jen McDavitt and senior midfielder Shelley Maasdorp.

Harvard will resume play this Saturday against Ivy foe Brown in Providence.

—Staff writer Pablo S. Torre can be reached at torre@fas.harvard.edu.