No Luck for Crimson in Doubleheader Weekend

If there’s one thing you can say about the Harvard field hockey team, it’s that it has been consistent; with nearly a third of the season behind it, the Crimson has yet to find itself on the winning end of a contest.

Unfortunately for Harvard, the weekend did not herald of a reversal of fortune. The Crimson (0-5) continued its current slump, falling in a shutout to Holy Cross (4-3) yesterday after suffering a disheartening 2-1 overtime loss to New Hampshire (1-6) just two days before.

HOLY CROSS 3, HARVARD 0

After a promising, if unnerving, performance just a game before, Harvard found no advantage in its home field locale during its 3-0 defeat to Holy Cross. Rather, the Crimson was ravaged by the invading Crusaders.

Holy Cross wasted no time with its attack, pouncing on the Harvard net just three minutes into the first half. A rocket pass across the circle deflected into the Crimson goal, launching the Crusaders to an early lead.

After a significant stalemate, Harvard again became the victim of the Holy Cross onslaught. With 12 minutes remaining in the first period, the Crusader offense pelted sophomore goalie Kelly Knoche with a whirlwind attack. Knoche exhibited superhuman agility, raking up half of the game’s eight saves in only two minutes.

Nonetheless, the Crusaders’ persistence prevailed. A dangerous crowd accumulated in the circle during a fierce battle for possession, and following the Crimson’s recent bout of bad luck, resulted in a not-so-lucky bounce off a Harvard defender directly to the stick of a Holy Cross player.

Harvard did earn six of the 11 penalty corners in the half but was unable to convert. The Crimson narrowly missed an opportunity to cut the Crusaders’ lead in half when junior Jana Berglund knocked a close shot into the goalie’s pads. Harvard jumped on the rebound but overshot.

The second half, while mutually quieter offensively, nonetheless continued to highlight the Crimson’s shortcomings. Holy Cross managed to do what Harvard could not, picking up its third and final goal on a penalty corner.

The game was the first of seven home contests in the Crimson’s next nine games.

NEW HAMPSHIRE 2, HARVARD 1

Death was not sudden enough for Harvard in Friday’s contest. After fighting for two halves and two overtimes in what looked to become the first Crimson victory of the season, Harvard wound up on the wrong end of a 2-1 score against New Hampshire.

The Crimson looked golden, battling hard and dominating the first half. It looked as if destiny was finally shining on Harvard’s previously lackluster performances as senior Aline Brown netted her first collegiate goal, putting the Crimson up just 10 minutes in. Brown maneuvered her way through the chaos in front of the cage to receive sophomore Francine Polet’s textbook pass and slap it past the Wildcat goalie.

The Harvard defense walled up the backfield, holding New Hampshire to a mere single shot before halftime.

With the second half, however, came a disgruntled Wildcat team that clawed its way through the Crimson defenders.

Knoche denied three New Hampshire shots on goal before one slipped through at 57:10. Though Harvard did manage to edge the Wildcats in penalty corners, New Hampshire made the most of its lone opportunity, hooking a drive into the left side of the net.

The Wildcats were then able to ride a wave of momentum that Harvard had been grasping for.

New Hampshire outshot the Crimson 9-2 in the second half and 4-1 in overtime.

Both teams held on for the remainder of regulation, but it was the Wildcats who caught the ultimate break. A few quick moves to the middle of the circle and Harvard watched as the ball caught the side of the cage, relinquishing all optimism. Well, maybe not all.

“I thought our Friday game we really played really well,” Brown said, calling it “our best game we played so far.”

“Sure, there were little lapses, but it was a great learning experience,” she said. “Our momentum will change; I know a win will come. It’s not our opponents, it’s us.”

—Staff writer Courtney Petrouski can be reached at petrousk@fas.harvard.edu.