Field Hockey Drops Second Straight Match

The Harvard field hockey team fell to an early 2-0 deficit in the first half, and Providence never looked back, ultimately defeating the Crimson, 3-0, Saturday afternoon in Providence, N.H.

Sophomore Steph Guglielmo netted the first goal for the Friars (2-2), scoring on a penalty corner in the 11th minute. Five minutes later, sophomore Henni Tietze doubled the lead for Providence, tallying another goal on the penalty corner.

"It’s hard to go down 2-0, but I think our team was still very confident," said Crimson sophomore forward Noel Painter. "It was still a game. We did our best to try to make it a game the entire match. We did what we could with the situation."

After each Providence score, Harvard worked to rebound quickly.

"We used a two-minute strategy after each goal," sophomore midfielder Caitlin Rea said. "We had two minutes to get back on it after a goal, that was kind of what we were after—high energy in the first two minutes after they scored."

But two early goals and a strong Friar defense made it difficult for the Crimson to stage any sort of comeback.

In the first half, Providence outshot Harvard, 9-0, and had eight penalty corners to the Crimson’s zero.

"They were able to take advantage of our mistakes that we made throughout the game in the forward line," Painter said. "Both teams had a lot of mistakes, but we were not able to capitalize on them like they were."

The Friars increased the lead in the second half, as sophomore Kaleigh Fitzpatrick scored off an assist from Tietze, putting Providence up by three.

In the last 15 minutes Harvard came on strong, with several penalty corners and no goals allowed, but was unable to put the finishing touch on any shots and overcome the early deficit.

The Crimson fared better in the second half than in the first, managing four penalty corners to the home team’s five.

Throughout the match, Harvard had a tough time breaking through the Friars’ defense, which limited scoring opportunities for the visitors.

"The [Providence] defense was stepping up quite well in front of us when we were transferring the ball from the defense and the midfield to the forwards," Rea said. "They broke down the forward line [and] were pretty strong in."

Rea had the most shots for the Crimson with three, including one on goal. Painter and sophomore midfielder Sydney Jenkins also contributed one shot each, both on goal as well.

"We weren’t able to get the rebounds and stuff the ball into the case,” Painter said. “That’s something that the forwards and the entire team really need to work on."

Overall, the Friars had 18 shots to Harvard’s five while taking 13 penalty corners to the Crimson’s four. Senior Kathi Weidman earned the shutout for Providence, saving three shots in her first win of the season.

Co-captain Cynthia Tassopoulos had 11 saves in the losing effort as Harvard dropped its second straight game.

With four saves last weekend against Holy Cross and 11 on Saturday against the Friars, Tassopoulos passed Anya Cowan ’00 for third place on the program’s all-time saves list. She now has 425 saves on her career, passing Cowan’s 424.

Having saved 154 last year, Tassopoulos will look to continue moving up the charts as the season progresses.

"She was really on form, making saves and helping us on the corners," Rea said. "She gave us some great motivation before each shot was taken and really helped the defense stay motivated. She kept in us in the game."

Despite the loss, Harvard believes it can play more to its potential and compete with the best in the country.

"We’re looking to come out strong and confident. I think that we can beat [BC]," Painter said before Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Eagles. "I think we can beat any team if we play our best. We’re just looking to go in with confidence and a winning attitude."

—Staff writer David Mazza can be reached at damazza@college.harvard.edu.