Offensive Woes Hand Crimson First Ivy Loss

The Harvard field hockey team had won 11 of its last 12 meetings with Penn heading into its game on Saturday. Despite the recent success, however, the Crimson lost, 2-0, at Franklin Field for its first Ivy League defeat of the season.

The Quakers (2-7, 1-1 Ivy), who had lost seven straight games, attacked right from the beginning. Penn notched three shots on goal in the opening minutes, all of which were stopped by senior goaltender Kylie Stone.

The Quakers finally broke through in the eighth minute when they gained a penalty corner, and on the ensuing play, Penn midfielder Margaretha Ehret gathered the ball at the top of the circle and ripped a shot that was heading just wide of the goal until teammate Laurel McGarvie tipped it past Stone and into the net.

After falling behind early, Harvard (2-5, 1-1 Ivy) ratcheted up the pressure. The Crimson had a 9-6 edge in shots and a 3-2 edge in penalty corners in the first half. Nonetheless, Quakers goaltender Alanna Butera met the challenge and stonewalled each attack. Butera registered four saves and lead Penn into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

“We had possession most of the game but couldn’t seem to get the ball into the circle,” sophomore forward Maggie McVeigh said. “When we did, we had trouble getting good shots off.”

After the half, the Quakers added a little cushioning to their lead. Less than three minutes into the second frame, Penn forward Christina Ferrier found Ehret directly beside the goal. Stone could do nothing as Ehret buried the shot into the opposite corner of the cage.

Down 2-0, Harvard had several chances to get back into the game. On a breakaway, sophomore forward Leigh McCoy faced Butera one-on-one. The goalie came out and challenged McCoy, driving her to one side and smothering her all the way to the endline so that McCoy could not get a clean shot.

Later in the half, freshman midfielder Carly Dickson ripped a shot from five yards in front of the goal that was aimed for the top right corner of the cage. Butera made a sprawling save, knocking the ball out of the air and allowing her defense to clear the threat.

After two Crimson penalty corners were thwarted late in the second half, the Quakers emerged with just their second win of the season, and Butera notched her second shutout.

“We had a number of penalty corners, but the goalkeeper had some great saves,” McVeigh said. “She had a great game, and that really worked against us.”

Franklin Field also proved to be a challenge for Harvard. The playing field, SprinTurf, is a slower surface, and, despite the fact that the team arrived a day early to acclimate itself to the turf, it was still a handicap.

“Our main obstacle in the game was playing on a different field turf,” McVeigh said. “That really hurt our team, because it’s something we aren’t used to.”

Ultimately, the Crimson recorded more shots, 11-9, and more penalty corners, 7-4, than its opponent but still failed to score. The offense has scored only two goals in its last three games, over which Harvard has gone 1-2.

“We need to work on getting more shots off when we have the opportunity, getting rebounds, scoring off of corners, and being in better position,” McVeigh said.

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.