Field Hockey Splits Weekend Set Against Penn, Fairfield

This past weekend, the Harvard field hockey team (6-3, 1-1 Ivy) recovered from an overtime loss to Ivy League rival Penn (5-6, 1-2) to dominate Fairfield (4-5), 4-0.

HARVARD 4, FAIRFIELD 0

In its final game of the weekend, the Crimson rebounded by recording its third shutout of the season.

“The team was pretty disappointed with the loss yesterday, obviously,” Harvard coach Tjerk van Herwaarden said. “I think they wanted to redeem themselves, and I think that created a lot of energy for us.”

Six minutes into the game, the Crimson utilized a penalty corner to get on the board. Junior forward Marissa Balleza, Harvard's top scorer, connected with sophomore midfielder Hannah Wellington for her first goal of the season.

The Crimson tallied its second goal of the half when junior forward Sarah Finnemore passed to senior midfielder Madison Jung, who scored with a quick shot into the corner of the net.

Harvard kept up its momentum in the second half by opening the period with a goal from freshman forward Kathleen Young, assisted by Balleza, two minutes in. The duo connected again less than eight minutes later when Young shot into the right side of an open goal.

“A freshman scoring two goals is always strong,” van Herwaarden said.

Balleza’s three assists bring the junior into a tie for eighth place in Crimson history in points. Balleza is also only one goal away from joining only six Harvard players with 30 career goals. Co-captain Elizabeth Jacobson also has her name in the record books, as she is ranked 10th in points and fifth in game-winning goals.

Fairfield nearly broke the shutout, but the team's lone goal of the game was dismissed by the referees after a long conference. Most of the action took place on the Stags' side of the field, as Harvard recorded 14 shots on goal compared to only six for Fairfield.

In the latter half of the second frame, Harvard relieved senior goalie Issy Davies with sophomore Olivia Startup, who played for 14 minutes without facing one shot on goal.

Co-captain Caroline Code praised her team’s ability to rebound following the tough loss to the Quakers.

“We were pretty angry, but I think it says a lot about a team who is able to turn a loss into motivation to win the next day,” Code said. “I’m happy that we had today to prove that.”

PENN 2, HARVARD 1

After recording four shots on goal within nine minutes of the first half, Balleza found the back of the net to score her eighth goal of the season. Young set up the junior by passing from the top of the arc off a penalty corner.

In the second half, Harvard nearly secured its lead when Jacobson capitalized on another Crimson penalty corner to score. However, the potential game-changing goal was waved off after a referee conference.

“The second goal that was scored against—I thought was a clean goal,” van Herwaarden said. “But eventually they took it away from us. That was a breaking point.”

Harvard’s defense held the Quakers scoreless for almost all of the regulated time, until Penn’s Gina Guccione broke through and tied the game with only 3:43 left to play, forcing the Crimson into overtime for the second time this year.

The Crimson led in shots on goal after the first half, but the tables quickly turned in the second half as the Quakers dominated the count, 11-2. This trend continued in overtime where Penn mostly stayed on the attack with six shots on goal.

The Quakers managed an overtime shutout of sorts against Harvard, holding the Crimson to zero attempts on goal. Eleven minutes into overtime, Penn’s Elizabeth Hitti sent an initial shot on goal that was knocked in by teammate Elise Tilton.

The conference loss broke Harvard’s four-game winning streak, leaving the Crimson tied for third in the Ivy League alongside Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Brown.