Field Hockey Finishes Labor Day Weekend with Sweep

Even after its trouble scoring early, Harvard field hockey pulled away from Bryant (0-4) in the second half of yesterday’s game at Jordan Field. The 5-2 win completed a Labor Day weekend sweep for the Crimson, which improved to 2-0 on the young season.

Harvard controlled the game throughout, taking 14 first-half shots. The Bulldogs managed only three, but the game remained tied at one deep into the match—despite the Crimson’s advantage in shots and possession time.

“They are a very strong, physical team, and it took us out of our game plan a little bit and rattled us a little at times,” Harvard coach Sue Caples said. “But we held our own, so this is a good step for us. I think we showed a lot of poise and composure working the ball. Defensively, they were in fall-away press, so we did a nice job being poised with that and bringing the ball upfield.”

The opening half’s only scoring came in the first 10 minutes. Crimson senior Chloe Keating netted her first of three goals just over two minutes into the game, and Bryant answered with a goal of its own after following up on a deflection off sophomore goalie Cynthia Tassopoulos.

“We got a lot of shots and we scored right in the beginning, which gave us a lot of momentum in the first half,” Keating said. “With the help of our defense and Cynthia, our goalie, we were able to stay in it.”

Tassopoulos made four saves on six shots on goal in the afternoon contest.

Harvard also had 10 penalty corners in the first half, including six in the final three minutes, but the team failed to execute on any of the opportunities. The Bulldogs had no corners, much to the frustration of a crowd that seemed to lean in favor of the visiting team.

“We needed to make some better decisions on corners, and the execution needs to be better,” Caples said. “Everyone was just crashing on the ball, and that’s really not hockey. We like a free-flowing passing game.”

Penalty corners remained problematic throughout the course of the game for Harvard. Only on its 11th chance, in the 59th minute of the game, did the team successfully convert the opportunity.

But the Crimson was able to build a comfortable lead before that point, first on a Keating score from the goal line and then on a penalty shot 10 minutes into the second half.

“I think we were just smarter about moving the goalie around,” Keating said. “The keeper was really strong for Bryant, so I think we capitalized off of the rebounds that came off of her pads rather than just trying to get the first shot in.”

Keating led the team in scoring with a hat trick, and junior co-captain Carly Dickson and sophomore Emma Keller each netted goals in the second half to cushion the lead. Dickson and Keller, along with freshman Christy Haughey, also had one assist each.

“Chloe has a little 3-D to her game, which means that she pops the ball up and likes to play it like that,” Caples said. “She penetrates really well, and I think she could have had even more.”

The Bulldogs mounted a modest comeback towards the end of the game, scoring easily and pushing the score to 5-2 on a pass up the middle. Bryant threatened a few minutes later on a penalty shot, but a failure to convert all but sealed the weekend’s second win for Harvard.

“We kind of gutted this one through,” Keating said. “We had a little bit more energy coming in on Saturday...I think we kind of pushed through today.”

—Staff writer E. Benjamin Samuels can be reached at samuels@college.harvard.edu.