Field Hockey's Goh Takes a Play-cation

While most Harvard students are busy writing papers and taking midterms, only wishing they could be somewhere else, freshman field hockey standout Kim Goh has been playing field hockey under the Argentinean sun and exploring the streets of Buenos Aires.

Goh will return to campus this week after a trip to Argentina with the U.S. Women's Under-19 National Team. In February, she joined her future U19 teammates for a three-day training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., near San Diego. Goh and her teammates then returned to their respective homes and schools for just over a month before meeting up again for an international tour in Argentina.

On April 4th, the 17-member U19 squad traveled to Buenos Aires after two days of training at the University of Maryland. In their first round of play, the American women topped the Argentineans, 2-1. The team got off to a slow start in the first half, and Argentina grabbed the early lead on a penalty corner. But the U.S. team came out with a vengeance in the second half and scored twice to pull out the win.

Unfortunately, the team dropped its next two games, first in a rematch against the Argentineans, 3-0, then in a 5-0 decision with the GEBA, one of the top club teams in Argentina. The GEBA squad carries seven Olympians on its roster, including the six-time FIH Player of the World Luciana Aymar. Although Aymar did not play due to injury, the depth of GEBA’s bench provided plenty of competition for the Americans. Goh and her U.S. teammates wrote in an online blog that “the match was a great learning experience of hockey on a high international level.”

Goh and her teammates put everything they learned in their first three games out on the field in their last match against Banfield Club, trouncing their final opponent, 5-0. Though the U.S. team went 2-2 in competition while in Argentina, Goh now can draw on a wealth of international experience when she returns to Harvard.

Goh plays midfield and at the back position for the Crimson. The rookie started all 17 games this season and was credited with one defensive save.

To read more about Goh’s adventures, check out her GoCrimson blog.