Field Hockey Pulls Away for Win

Coming off the heels of an unnerving 2-0 loss to No. 20 Maine and a 3-1 defeat to No. 6 Connecticut, the No. 18 Harvard field hockey team could sense another heartbreaker as soon as the second half began against Brown on Saturday afternoon.

Its veteran leadership, however, wouldn’t let that happen again.

The Crimson (5-2, 2-0 Ivy) remained perfect in Ancient Eight competition by downing the Bears (2-5, 0-2) 5-2 this weekend in hostile Providence, riding an unanswered four-goal surge to close out the game.

After Brown’s Rebecca Mondics scored twice within a two-minute span to open the second half and give the Bears a 2-1 lead, the Harvard offense clicked.

Captain midfielder Kate Gannon knocked in an assist from junior midfielder Jen McDavitt at 53:28, and the game-winner was scored four minutes later when senior midfielder Shelley Maasdorp blasted a rebound past Brown goaltender Kristen Hoyadance to make it 3-2.

“[Their two quick goals] were frustrating, but we took that frustration and converted it into positive energy to take the momentum,” Gannon said. “That was what was needed. Throughout the game, we had the confidence to do what we did. We just ended up doing it in the last 10 minutes.”

Sophomore forward Julie Lane’s score drew first blood at 3:08, and gave her the team lead with five goals. Maasdorp’s tally thereafter tied her for the mark.

The Crimson attack, however, was far, far from done.

McDavitt went on to score twice within the contest’s final 10 minutes to shut the door—once on a penalty corner from Maasdorp, and then unassisted on a rebound from junior forward Beverlie Ting—to finally notch her first goals of the season.

“I was relieved,” McDavitt joked. “It felt really good. I hadn’t scored yet this season, and I wanted to help, to put teams away. I wanted to be responsible for helping our team win, and I felt like it was just about time.”

Her captain agreed.

“It was huge for Jen to finish, and it was a real tough position for Brown to be in,” Gannon added. “With a three goal difference, you start to feel like the game is a little bit out of reach.”

Harvard, which had been stunted offensively in its two-game losing streak, returned to form all around by maintaining a 21-8 advantage in shots and a 12-4 edge in penalty corners.

Though the team kept quiet in the first half, out-shooting the Bears by a slim margin of 4-2, it exploded in the second to the tune of an 18-6 shot differential.

“We were sort of walking through the first half,” McDavitt said. “I think that we felt a little out of rhythm, but we snapped into action.”

The team, for its part, credits that rejuvenation in large part to the loud support exhibited by Harvard’s women’s ice hockey team, which made the trek to Rhode Island to help negate the hostile Bears fans on Brown’s Warner Roof.

“Their presence coincided with a momentum shift,” Gannon said. “They came in when it was 2-1, and it was a hostile environment. It became a totally Harvard crowd.”

With the win, senior netminder Aliaa Remtilla improves to 5-2 on the year, negating an otherwise notable 14-save effort from Hodavance, who got the loss.

The Crimson will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. this weekend to face Northwestern on Friday and then Michigan on Sunday.

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