Weekend Preview: Fall Sports Head North

This weekend proves to be an exciting one, with four Harvard teams traveling to Dartmouth to take on the Big Green and other teams playing home matches for Crimson fans to enjoy.

Football stays on the road, traveling to Dartmouth this weekend, three weeks before the biggest Game of the year. The Crimson face off against the Big Green tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., looking to pick up its third conference victory. Last time out, the Crimson’s offense led the team to victory with a 45-28 win over Princeton to bring the team record to 4-2. Dartmouth also won last weekend, narrowly defeating Columbia, 24-21, but Harvard has won 12 of the last 13 meetings with Dartmouth and seeks to continue this dominant record.

The men’s soccer squad also travels to Hanover, N.H. to take on the Big Green tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. The Crimson, 4-5-5 overall, is on a two-game losing streak and looks to turn the season around in its fifth conference match. Dartmouth stands at 6-6-1 for the season, seemingly putting the teams on level playing field. Last season, Harvard scored a victory at home over Dartmouth, 2-1, but in the last four meetings, each team stands at two wins apiece.

Also in Hanover for the weekend, the women’s soccer team will challenge the Big Green tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. The women have a winning record, but just barely, going 7-6-1 so far. Contrary to the men’s team, the women are on a two-game winning streak, recording those victories against Quinnipiac and Princeton. Harvard is 2-0-1 in its last three matches against its Ivy League rival.

The final squad heading to Dartmouth is the field hockey team, taking on the Big Green tomorrow at 1 p.m. The team has increased its losing streak to seven, dropping its past two matches to Princeton and Boston College. Last season, the Crimson went down to Dartmouth, 5-3, and the Big Green has won the last two meetings against Harvard.

The cross-country team traveled to Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, N.Y. for today’s annual Heptagonal Championships. Last year at this event, captain Daniel Chenoweth took first in the 8k race, leading the men to a sixth-place finish overall. The team repeated its sixth-place performance this year, but Chenoweth fell short of defending his title, placing second overall. The Harvard women placed fifth at Heps.

The men’s tennis squad hosts the Big Crimson Halloween Invitational today through Sunday. Action starts with the first round of singles and doubles this afternoon, with the finals taking place on Sunday. Junior Ali Felton and sophomore Andy Nguyen will team up again after winning the doubles crown at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships two weeks ago.

In other Harvard sports action, the women’s volleyball team goes to Cornell and Columbia this weekend, after notching wins over both teams at home earlier this season. The women will compete against Columbia tonight at 7 p.m. and against Cornell tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. The women’s ice hockey squad kicks off its home season tonight and tomorrow afternoon, taking on Yale and Brown. Finally, the men’s lightweight crew team travels to the annual Princeton Chase event.