Late Goal Lifts Field Hockey Over Northeastern

After a close 3-1 loss to defending national champion Princeton last weekend, the Harvard field hockey team moved on and prevailed last night, earning a 1-0 win over Northeastern in the Huskies’ last home game of the season.

“Princeton was a tough loss, but I think we still played really well against them,” sophomore back Elizabeth Jacobson said. “I think being able to compete with one of the top teams just gave us all confidence that we could be playing a lot better, so coming into this game, we knew we could play better, and we just tried to prove that.”

Freshman Marissa Balleza continued her impressive rookie campaign, scoring the game-winner with just four minutes left in regulation. With no defenders in sight, Balleza received a nice pass from junior Kaitlyn Boudah and chipped the ball high into the right side of the netting past Northeastern goalkeeper Cara Ahlgrim.

“The first half was a little slow,” junior forward Noel Painter said. “We didn’t have that many shots or short corners. But we picked it up in the second half and were eventually able to score and come home with the win.”

Balleza, with her ninth goal of the season, also extended her point streak to seven consecutive games. The rookie is proving to be one of the brighter spots on a squad that feels itself improving as the season continues.

“The score might not show it, but I think we did a lot better at spreading the field and connecting our passes,” Jacobson said. “It took a while to get started and get in the motion of things, which seems to be our common problem. But I think we’re getting there, and I think overall it was a good game.”

Northeastern dominated the opening half, as the Crimson took some time to get themselves going. The Huskies held a 10-4 advantage in shots and had seven penalty corners before halftime.

However, they just could not get the ball past senior goalkeeper Jenn Hatfield. After allowing three goals against Princeton last weekend, Hatfield returned to the field against the Huskies and made seven saves to preserve the shutout.

“She made some incredible saves,” Painter said. “I think they had eight short corners, and she just had so many saves and just really set us up well and put us in a good position to win.”

Painter nearly put the team ahead with only one minute left before halftime, but her reverse stick shot went wide of the net, and the teams entered the break still knotted at 0-0. Harvard then rallied in the second half, rattling off six shots in the final thirty-five minutes.

“We knew we needed to score as soon as possible,” Jacobson said. “We were a little on their heels and we were a little more defensive [during the game], but I think at the end, we knew we had to be really offensive and get in the circle and score, so we just went all out.”

The Crimson defenders also clamped down, stifling a Northeastern offense that last year scored four goals in a 4-1 win over Harvard. Despite having nine penalty corners to the Crimson’s four, the Huskies were unable to capitalize on a single opportunity, and only got off two shots in the second half.

“It was still our game, even though it was tied,” Painter said. “We really felt that if we picked it up a little bit, we could come home with the win. Northeastern traditionally has been a very competitive opponent for us, and so we really just wanted to take home this win to get ready for this coming weekend.”

With about ten minutes to go in regulation, Northeastern had perhaps its best chance to take its first lead of the game off its eighth penalty corner of the contest. However, Hatfield refused to yield and managed to keep the Huskies off the board by kicking away freshman Emmy Zweserijn’s one-on-one opportunity.

In the final minutes after Balleza’s tally, Northeastern could not regain momentum, and Harvard held on for the 1-0 win. Having avenged last year’s loss to their crosstown rivals, the team now looks to return to Ivy League play this weekend against Dartmouth.

“We played a very tactically sound game,” Painter said. “But moving forward, especially in practice on Friday, we really need to focus on the basics. We really need to connect our passes and work on our outletting and our shooting because if those things aren’t on, Dartmouth is going to be a very difficult opponent to beat.”