Field Hockey Loses Defensive Battle in Overtime

With just over five minutes left to play in regulation at Jordan Field, the Harvard field hockey team got on the scoreboard for the first time Saturday. But the late offensive spark was not enough to clinch Harvard’s first at-home victory of the season, as Brown managed to sink the ball into the net two minutes into sudden death overtime for the 2-1 victory.

“We worked hard, but we weren’t as smart as we should have been,” Crimson Coach Tjerk van Herwaarden said.  “We didn’t finish when we had some opportunities. They were just smarter than we were in some aspects of the game.”

Both regulation goals came late. Throughout the game’s entire first half the two squads maintained an empty scoreboard. This solid defensive effort by both the Crimson and the Bears was anchored by each team’s respective goalie. Harvard senior Jenn Hatfield contributed five stops for the Crimson while Brown’s Shannon McSweeney stopped a total of 10 shots in the match.

However, this airtight defensive affair was broken when Brown’s Alexis Miller capitalized on a short corner opportunity midway through the second half.  Miller caught the Crimson’s defense off guard to make the score 1-0 in the Bears’ favor. Close to 15 minutes passed before the Crimson had any answer to this offensive advance.

“They were smart enough to have a shooter going off sides, which we don’t see happen too often,” van Herwaarden said.

The response to Miller’s goal came in the form of sophomore Elizabeth Jacobson, who powered through Brown’s defense in a short corner penalty with the assistance of teammates Noel Painter and Caroline McNeill.

“We’ve been working really hard this week on corners,” Jacobson said. “We know that if we capitalize on them, [winning] will be a lot easier.”

The teams were neck and neck for the whole game, with each team making aggressive plays that simply were not finishing to either’s advantage. The Crimson led the Bears the entire game in shots taken on goal with Harvard tallying 15 attempted goals to Brown’s 10.  Harvard also controlled most the majority of possession.

“We came out with a lot of fire,” Jacobson said. “I thought we did really well, we had good control. We just needed to get those simple chances and capitalize early.”

In the aftermath of Jacobson’s game tying goal, both squads faced the pressure of converting one final tally with just over five minutes left on the clock. With mere seconds left, a foul on Harvard inside the arc led to the seventh corner shot opportunity of the match for the Crimson, giving Harvard one last shot to take the lead and end the contest.

Yet Brown goalie McSweeney denied Harvard’s last-ditch attempt, and with that the Crimson saw itself going into its first overtime of the season.  But the team remains optimistic about its chances heading into the sudden death round.

“Scoring that goal in the last few minutes gave us a lot of momentum,” said van Herwaarden. “We felt pretty good about it.”

This positive mindset was not enough to clinch the win for Harvard.  On the first possession of sudden death, freshman midfielder Kyla Cordrey attempted a shot that came just shy of the back of the net as Brown’s McSweeney notched yet another save.

Quickly, the Bears took advantage of their first and final possession of the overtime period, pushing the ball all the way down the field. Brown junior forward Meghan O’Donnell baited Hatfield out of her home, creating a wide-open chance for Brown to attack the goal. O’Donnell made the cross field pass to fellow forward Hannah Rogers, who put the ball away easily.  As the ball sliced into the net, the Bears garnered their fourth win of the season.

Despite a commanding performance that continually put pressure on Brown’s defense, the Crimson was unable to secure the victory.

“Overall, I think we played a lot better,” said van Herwaarden. “But unfortunately the game is decided by who scored the most goals.”

Van Herwaarden feels strongly about the solid level of the Crimson’s play, and the squad is hopeful that this loss can serve as a learning experience.

“I still think we are in a good spot,” the coach said. “Our philosophies are working; we just need to make that final step. We need to be tougher and we need to be smarter, because that’s what determines the winner.”