Field Hockey Earns First Win of the Season in Shut-Out Fashion

After a slow start, the Harvard field hockey squad (1-2) notched its first victory of the season on Friday night against Holy Cross (1-2), rallying off four straight goals in the second half to beat the Crusaders for the seventh straight year.

Prior to the contest, the Crimson had struggled offensively this season—in its two losses last weekend, the team managed to score just one goal. Harvard’s shooting woes continued through the first half of Friday night’s game, and neither side managed to notch a goal by halftime.

“It wasn’t that we were struggling,” junior forward Noel Painter said. “We just didn’t have enough conviction to put the ball in the net. We played a pretty good first half overall, but we needed to adjust some things and pick up the intensity after halftime.”

The game continued slowly for the opening of the second half, until with just under 20 minutes remaining in the contest, freshman forward Sarah Finnemore was able to break the silence, scoring both her and the Crimson’s second goal of the season.

“We just picked up the intensity after halftime,” Finnemore said. “We really started focusing on the fundamentals and worked hard to keep the pressure on Holy Cross.”

After Finnemore’s first goal, the flood gates opened.

“I thought as the game went on that we played a little bit harder,” Painter said. “We really adjusted our mindset. We came out with the attitude that on every 50-50 ball, we were going to beat the Holy Cross player to it. When we got into the circle, we were going to take shots immediately and get the rebounds. It was really a mindset transition at halftime.”

Five minutes later, junior forward Noel Painter followed with her first goal of the season, putting Harvard up 2-0 with only 14 minutes to go.

“Once we started scoring, we definitely got into a groove,” Finnemore said. “The passes started going stick to stick, and it really got a lot better.”

Finnemore then added the third goal of her short career, assisted by fellow freshman forward Marissa Balleza, while sophomore back Elizabeth Jacobson rounded off the scoring for the match with five minutes left in the contest, thanks to an assist from Painter.

“Its wonderful to see [Finnemore] scoring three goals already,” Painter said.  “She’s a very talented and incredible player, and having her score and play at such a high level really helps to encourage all of us to do the same. It was nice that I got one into the back of the net as well, and I was glad that I could assist [Jacobson] on her goal, too.”

This was the Crimson’s first shutout of the season and marked a strong overall defensive performance from the team. Senior goalie Jenn Hatfield notched six saves during the match as did Holy Cross goalie Maya Langman, who was playing her first game of the year.

For the last several years, Harvard has met the Crusaders early in the season, winning the last seven contests. Over that time period, the Crimson has dominated the scoreboard, with an aggregate score of 22-2. However, Harvard went on to have losing seasons each of those years.

“We need to capitalize on our scoring chances more often,” Finnemore said. “We had some in the first half that could have been goals, so when we have the opportunity to score we really need to make sure we do. We need to make sure we capitalize on any chances we have in the offensive circle and try not to give any defensive corners going forward.”

The Crimson will look to do just that as the team opens up Ivy League play at Yale next week.

“We need to come out with a tougher, more intense mindset early in the games,” Painter said. “We need to make sure to get the balls in the net early as we play tougher teams and enter Ivy League competition…We have been practicing hard and will be ready to go [next match].”

—Staff writer Theo Levine can be reached at tlevine@college.harvard.edu.