Rookie Notches Two Goals to Lead Field Hockey

After finishing last season with a disappointing 8-9 record, marking the program’s ninth straight losing season, the Harvard field hockey team (2-0) is ready to deliver on some high expectations.

The Crimson certainly won’t be lacking in young talent, as freshman Hannah Wellington burst onto the scene in her first weekend of collegiate play to score two goals in the team’s decisive 4-0 win over Holy Cross.

“[This season] we want to focus on keeping the field wide,” Harvard coach Tjerk van Herwaarden said. “We want to keep it open, and Hannah was able to be right there in the right spot and get the two goals. She’s been a good player in the past, she was captain of her high school team for a long time, and I think we saw a bright future for her here.”

Coming off of a 3-2 win over Bryant on Friday, Harvard jumped out to an early lead on Sunday against Holy Cross, as senior Kaitlyn Boudah knocked home a goal after receiving a feed from co-captain Caitlin Rea.

Wellington quickly added to the Crimson’s lead with her first goal of the day, collecting the ball at the top of the circle off of some quick passes by sophomores Sarah Finnemore and Kyla Cordrey and firing it in to give Harvard a 2-0 advantage just three minutes later.

The freshman proved her versatility once more before the end of the first half, deftly weaving her way through the defense as she dribbled inside the circle and slapped another shot past Holy Cross goalkeeper Maya Langman to put the Crimson up, 3-0.

“On her second goal, it was a team attack where the forwards kept it wide and kept to the sides really well,” van Herwaarden said. “That allowed Hannah to go to the middle. The defenders didn’t pick her up, and that allowed her to get the goal.”

Rea put home Harvard’s last tally of the game in the 61st minute off of a penalty corner. Although she was held scoreless throughout the rest of the contest, Wellington remained relentless as she rattled off four more shots before the final horn sounded.

“I knew that I was wide open across on the top of the net and I could get the shots off, because the rest of my team had worked so hard to drive the endline or cut out of the space so that they could set me up for the goals,” Wellington said. “It just shows you how team-oriented we are…. I ended up getting the goals, but it was never going to happen unless my other teammates set me up the way they did for each one.”

A freshman from Brentwood, N.H., Wellington comes to Harvard with plenty of success under her belt, having earned four varsity letters on the Phillips Exeter field hockey team and captaining the squad for two years.

The midfielder is eager to experience the higher level of play and competition that the college game has to offer.

“I’m so used to high school play where nobody really knows what they’re doing,” Wellington said. “Here all the girls know so much about the sport and are so dedicated, and it’s a completely different environment when you’re playing with the team that we have, and when everyone’s so supportive of each other and just so knowledgeable about the sport.”

After a disappointing 2013 season, the Crimson is looking to finally realize the potential that has been lurking on its roster for the past few years.

“As a team, we always talk about our goals and what we want to do,” Wellington said. “I just want to have the team connect really well and be able to capitalize on every opportunity, because our team has so much potential this year. You can already see from the first two games that...we’re already beginning to capitalize on that potential, and I just want us to be able to follow through on all of our hard work.”

—Staff writer Glynis K. Healey can be reached at ghealey@college.harvard.edu.