Field Hockey Tops Cornell, Tying Program Record With Sixth Straight Win

Five goals and two broken records complimented the Harvard field hockey team’s 5-0 victory over Cornell on Saturday, as the Crimson extended its winning streak to six games—the team’s longest such streak since 1990.

One more victory now would give Harvard (8-4, 4-0 Ivy) its longest winning streak in program history. But on Saturday, individual records—not team records—were the ones to fall. With two goals and an assist on Saturday, senior forward Marissa Balleza now stands alone atop Harvard’s all time point and goal lists with 103 and 44, respectively.

Nonetheless, it took a bit for Balleza and the Crimson to get rolling at the Berylson Family Field Hockey Field. Harvard struggled to score at the outset of the game, as it was not until the 28th minute that the ball finally made its way past the Cornell defense and into the goal. Following a penalty corner, senior back Sophie van Weede smacked a shot at the goal that was blocked, then rebounded and scored by captain Kyla Cordrey for her first goal of the season.

“We had to grow into the game,” Harvard coach Tjerk van Herwaarden said. “Cornell came out to compete with us and we had difficulty finding our rhythm, but once we got the first goal, it allowed us to grow some confidence. As soon as that happened, we were able to control the game a little bit better and therefore get some more goals.”

The scoreless first 27 minutes were not the result of few shots at the goal, as both the Crimson and the Big Red (6-7, 1-3) posted four shots and two penalty corners apiece prior to Harvard drawing first blood. Rather, it was a testament to two strong defenses. Cornell’s junior goalie, Kelly Johnson, had a goals against average of 1.69 prior to the matchup, ranking 20th in the nation, and a .712 save percentage to go along with it.

Harvard’s defense, however, touts a strong goalie of its own. Saturday’s matchup marked sophomore Libby Manela’s sixth start and the team's subsequent sixth consecutive victory. Undefeated in net, Manela has allowed only three goals since being inserted into the starting lineup. As a result of her efforts, the sophomore has been given two Ivy League Field Hockey Player of the Week awards.

Manela would not concede a goal on Saturday—her second straight shutout—but the Crimson still managed to give her a little insurance. Just before the half, in the 35th minute, junior Emily Ott doubled the Harvard lead with her first goal of the season.

Then just 17 seconds out of the half, Harvard struck again. This time it was Balleza, scoring the 43rd goal of her career to tie Judy Collins ’99 on the program leaderboard. This second goal within less than a minute of playing time increased the lead to 3-0.

A foul by the Big Red in the 52nd minute granted Balleza a penalty stroke, an opportunity she capitalized on, extending the Crimson lead to four. With her second goal of the game and 10th of the season, she passed Collins for the all time program record in both goals and points.

The final goal came in the 57th minute as Hannah Wellington dribbled through the circle and backhanded the ball into the goal for her third score of the season.

“I think we were smarter in the circle yesterday and really took advantage of the chances we did have by making good decisions,” junior midfielder Ellie Cookson said. “We also weren’t afraid to just take the shot when the opportunity arose which is something we have struggled with in previous games.”

Harvard beat Cornell in attempts at the goal, with 11 shots to the Big Red’s seven. Overall, Cornell racked up one more save than the Crimson with four.

Harvard’s six-game streak will be tested next weekend when Harvard squares off against conference rival and No. 11 ranked Princeton (9-5, 4-0). The Tigers, the only other undefeated Ivy League team remaining, will host the Crimson at Bedford Field on Oct. 22; and with primarily conference games remaining, the result will likely be for the Ivy League crown.

“The team knows that we will have to [start stronger] if we want to compete with a team like Princeton,” Herwaarden said. “I think the tone in next week’s game is going to a whole different beast. We’re going to just prepare for it the whole week, we’re going to do what we do. We said at the beginning that we’re going take it game by game, and so far, that is working very well.”