Losses Push Harvard Below .500 in League Play

Needing a win to keep its Ivy League title hopes alive, the Harvard field hockey team traveled to Princeton, N.J. on Saturday to play No. 12 Princeton at Class of ’52 Stadium.

Tigers midfielder Kraftin Schreyer and forward Kathleen Sharkey scored two goals apiece, as Princeton (12-2, 5-0 Ivy) jumped out to an early lead and did not look back, cruising to a convincing 5-0 victory over the Crimson (6-8, 2-3).

“Princeton was a good team, and we didn’t play our best game, but we’ll learn from this and move on,” senior back Abbie Harpstead said.

Princeton wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, capitalizing on a penalty corner two minutes into the game. Tigers defender Kaitlyn Perrelle took the corner and sent a pass to midfielder Candice Arner who set up Schreyer for an open look at the edge of the circle. Schreyer wound up and ripped a shot to the right of the cage. The ball appeared to be heading wide of the goal, but, with a little luck, it ricocheted off the stick of a Harvard defender and into the net.

Harvard withstood the Princeton attack for the next 30 minutes, and it looked as if the score would be 1-0 at halftime. But with only a minute to go until the break, the Tigers gained another penalty corner, and the combination of Arner, Perrelle, and Schreyer connected for a score. Schreyer received the ball inside of the circle and fired a shot past Crimson goaltender Kylie Stone for her seventh goal of the season.

At halftime, Princeton held a commanding advantage in shots, 9-2, and in penalty corners, 6-0.

Stone recorded four saves, while Princeton goaltender Jennifer King stopped the only shot she faced.

The second half proved to be no easier than the first for Harvard, as the Tigers quickly extended their lead and put the game out of reach. In the first five minutes of the period, Sharkey matched Schreyer by tallying two goals.

Sharkey’s first score came less than a minute into the half. On a 2-on-1 in the circle, Tigers midfielder Katie Reinprecht sent a pass to Sharkey in front of the goal where the freshman slipped a shot past Stone. Less than four minutes later, Tigers defender Holly McGarvie put a shot on net that was blocked by Stone. Sharkey swooped in for the rebound and lifted it over Stone and into the net. The score was her 10th goal of the year.

Midway through the half, Princeton notched its final goal.

Tigers defender Holly McGarvie sent a pass in front of the goal that was redirected by teammate Katie Kinzer into the back of the net.

The final statistics reflected the outcome of the game. Overall, Princeton held a 24-2 advantage in shots and an 8-0 edge in penalty corners. In the second half alone, the Tigers registered 15 shots, 13 of which were on net, while the Crimson managed zero.

“We weren’t working as well together,” Harpstead said. “We need to learn how to work better as a team and push forward our attack.”

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