Field Hockey Blanks UMass-Lowell, 4-0

After a devastating overtime defeat last week, the Harvard field hockey team (3-5, 1-2 Ivy) bounced back with a dominant road performance against UMass-Lowell. The Crimson jumped out to an early lead and never lost it as the team shut out the River Hawks on their home field, 4-0.

“Tonight was a great game,” sophomore back Elizabeth Jacobson said. “We came out with all of our energy. We really went out full force and came through with a pretty good game.”

Harvard solidly commanded the offense throughout the entire match, hitting the back of the net four times on 10 attempted shots, compared to the River Hawks’ five scoring attempts.

The most notable offensive performance can be attributed to Marissa Balleza, the rookie forward who has already made a huge impact on the squad. Balleza tallied two goals in the match, making her scoring total this season three goals and an assist.

“Marissa played amazing in the circle,” Jacobson said. “She capitalized, and she was always there.”

The win was a group effort for the Crimson, as three different players contributed to the scoring. Adding to the offensive effort were junior midfielder Caitlin Rea and freshman back Sophie van Weede, who added a goal each.

“The mindset going into this game was about each of us doing our job,” junior forward Noel Painter said. “We focused on the few things each of us needed to do to get the win.”

Not to be outdone on the other side of the field, Harvard managed to clinch its second shutout of the season. Senior goalkeeper Jenn Hatfield came through with one save, while sophomore goalie Madison Jung recorded another two saves in net. This combined effort kept the opposing team scoreless the entire match.

The Crimson’s defense has been consistently strong this season, with Hatfield recording a total of 45 saves to date, anchoring Harvard’s defense.

“Jenn Hatfield is playing great,” Jacobson said. “She’s having incredible saves, and we’ve got other girls adding blocks in the back.”

In their inaugural Division I season, the River Hawks entered the match with a record of 1-11. The team’s effort was spearheaded by Melissa Effertz and Kelly Freitas, who each contributed an attempted shot. UMass-Lowell goalie Melanie Hopkins notched three saves in the cage.

“UMass-Lowell has definitely been stepping it up,” Jacobson said. “But we came out with a little more energy, and we were able to capitalize on a lot of opportunities.”

The Crimson commanded the game from start to finish. Harvard has been using its experiences in the season thus far to strengthen its weak points and progress as a team. This win marked the end of a three-game losing skid for the Crimson, including a close loss to Brown.

“We played really hard in the Brown game, and to come out with a loss was really disappointing,” Jacobson said. “Coming into this game, we just knew that we had to come back. I think everyone pulled together and did really well.”

“We work hard every practice,” Painter said. “But the overtime loss really enforced some things we needed to work on in practice, and it paid off.”

The win is a huge confidence boost for Harvard, but the squad still recognizes that it has a long road ahead.

“We know that we have a lot to learn from,” Jacobson said. “[We have] a lot to get better at, but today was just a great boost for us.”

With this key victory notched, the Crimson squad is getting ready for its next match against Fairfield at Jordan Field on Sunday.

“We’re focusing on one game at a time,” Painter said. “We’re going to continue to work on our possession and scoring opportunities, and if we do that, we’re going to have a lot more wins.”

Harvard has yet to win a home game this season but will look to change that against a powerful Fairfield team that has won six straight matches.

“We would love to win every game,” said Jacobson. “But if we come out with a couple wins and a couple losses and progress as a team, that’s what we really want to do.”