Win No. 1: Crimson Socks Cornell

Moments before game time Sunday on Jordan Field, the Harvard women’s field hockey team was forced to strip off and change its socks, whose crimson hue the referee deemed too similar to the red of Cornell. Clad in white socks for the first time in over a decade, the Crimson (1-10, 1-2 Ivy) went on to win in a stirring overtime victory over the Big Red (4-4, 2-3 Ivy) on a goal by co-captain and midfielder Gretchen Fuller.

Sophomore goalie Kelly Knoche set the tone for Harvard in the game’s opening minutes. Cornell threatened early when Big Red midfielder Katlyn Donoghue rocketed an airborne shot at the upper-right corner of the goal. Knoche rejected the shot, slapping it away with her gloved hand.

“I think we were just ready to win today,” Fuller said. “We all came out really fired up and ready to play hard.”

Harvard’s play in the first half demonstrated that aggression. The Crimson kept the Big Red bottled up on its defensive half of the field. When Cornell attempted to clear the ball from its half, the Harvard backs stepped up the pressure. Senior Jennifer DeAngelis, junior Devon Shapiro, sophomore Francine Polet, and co-captain Audrey Ziomnek consistently beat Cornell’s forwards to the ball and returned it to the attack.

“We really built the ball up nicely,” head coach Sue Caples said. “We’re not a team that gets a lot of scoring opportunities, but we were really consistent for seventy minutes.”

Despite its edge in time of possession, the Crimson struggled to create scoring opportunities. Too often, the Big Red successfully forced the Harvard forward trio of Fuller, senior Aline Brown, and sophomore Kayla Romanelli wide, trapping the ball in the field’s corners.

The Crimson did not take its first shot of the game until nearly 24 minutes of play had elapsed. With 11:03 remaining in the first half, Brown shook her defender and took the shot from about fifteen feet, forcing Big Red sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Prescott to dive for the save.

Harvard had one more opportunity to take the lead as the half came to a close, when the Crimson earned a penalty corner. Prescott dove again to save Polet’s shot. Polet and Brown crashed for the rebound, but Prescott managed to corral the ball.

Play opened up in the second half as both teams managed to find more offense. Cornell came dangerously close to scoring several times, but each time, Knoche rose to the task. Sophomore Brenna Gulotta shook the Harvard defense loose on a breakaway, but Knoche slid in, kicking the ball away with her foot.

Minutes later, the scene repeated itself. This time, Knoche rushed out to deny sophomore midfielder Abbi Horn, ably defending against the attack with her feet.

In the final minutes of regulation, Harvard moved Ziomek up from back to midfield in an attempt to score. Ziomek managed a shot before the half ended, but Prescott made the save.

For the overtime period, four players from each team left the field, turning the game into a contest of seven on seven.

“We came in to overtime ready to pound it,” Fuller said. “Nobody was tired.”

Overtime was short, but sweet for the Crimson. Brown quickly seized control of the ball. She dribbled down the right side of the field, cutting into the circle.

Brown attempted to pass to the far side of the goal, where Fuller waited. Her pass was deflected upward, but Fuller reached for the ball, batting it out of the air and into the goal.

After ten consecutive losses, the Crimson captured its first victory of the season at just 1:37 into overtime.

Harvard will return to action at home next Saturday against Yale.

“We’re going to be wearing white socks for the rest of the year,” Caples said.