With five games left in the regular season, No. 15 Harvard Field Hockey is on the move for another Ivy League Championship and NCAA Tournament run. Crimson has beaten his two Ivy League rivals Penn and Yale so far, leaving him with three schools in the coming weeks.
“Different team skill levels and different tenants certainly have less of an impact on the game, as the energy and proud school colors carry through these games,” says head coach Tjerk van. Herwaarden said.
Harvard travels to Hanover, New Hampshire this weekend to face Dartmouth. Around this time last year, the Crimson beat Big Green his 4–0 to record his 7th straight win against the team. The odds look to be in Harvard’s favor, but given Harvard’s reputation, the competitive boost these Ivy brought to his league matches is noteworthy. Reigning Ivy League Champions and 2021 Final Four Contenders.
“[Dartmouth] We will continue to do everything we can to win, to defend our colors, to defend our school,” commented Van Helwarden. “It brings a different level of energy. I think that’s what we bring, as well as knowing that we have a level to play… It makes for an exciting game.” “
Perhaps the hardest Ivy team to beat will be Princeton. Harvard and Princeton split the Ivy title between 2016 and his 2019 and are arguably his two best teams in Ivy League field hockey. Last year, Harvard earned a well-fought 2–1 victory over the Quakers after a penalty shootout in overtime, giving them the championship name.
This overtime victory is one of the most memorable in the team’s history as anticipation builds for the Princeton game. Along the lines of this, Harvard has historically tended to dominate in overtime scenarios. He’s had three games already this season, two of his two in overtime, and the Crimson have won all of them. Even last year, Harvard hit him six overtime hours.The team won all five but lost to the last opponent Dominated NCAA champion Northwestern University in the Final Four Games and put a point on the board.Nevertheless they still posted Two impressive shutouts and overtime wins against No. 6 Louisville and No. 2 Michigan in tournaments.
Just this weekend, the Crimson scored a double-overtime victory over the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in a hard-fought 2-1 game.Goals from Junior Ciofra Murdoch and Freshman Bronte May Blow Excellent defense of the net by Senior Ellie Schavo.
“If you have the power of Bronte or Ciofra Murdoch, you can hurt their penalty corner,” said the head coach. “I think it improved on that last season.”
In these overtime situations, Harvard has taken a more controlled approach rather than overrunning very quickly and rushing toward the net.
“When we reduce overtime to seven people, we can select a lot of quality people, and I think that will be a big factor in controlling them,” recalls van Herwaarden.
“I think we have a lot of hockey IQ or hockey intelligence on the field, so we play very smart,” continued the coach. We tend to be very patient and disciplined about how we play out these overtime scenarios, as they can be dangerous.”
The Crimson are also scoring easier this year compared to last year, showing an improvement in offense given their reputation as one of the top defensive teams in field hockey.
“I think the width and depth of the forward line so far this year is phenomenal,” said Van Helwarden. “We have built growth from midfield to the forward line and the forward line overall has been a little bit smarter in connection. I think that has increased in the last few weeks.
In a recent 4-0 win over Yale, Harvard scored easily in the first half, but struggled to score on Sunday against UMass Lowell.
“If you want to be successful in the postseason, don’t let that happen. You know how to prepare every game as if it’s your last,” the head coach said.
“I think that’s going to be our mindset for the next few games…if we do, the best is yet to come.”
Another tough but rewarding game for Harvard was against No. 9 St. Joseph University in torrential rain. The Crimson only lost 1-0 given the harsh conditions and exceptional offense from the Hawks.
“St. Joseph’s game was really great for us…we knew they scored easily and had very good defense.” It’s great to play these types of games to see if they match.”
“We had more control in midfield, especially since we felt we were controlling 60 to 70 percent of the game between the 25-yard line. was very positive for
A recent loss against St. Joseph’s, a dominance over the Yale Bulldogs and a strong win over the UMass Lowell River Hawks boosted Harvard’s confidence and kept them on track for another season-ending push.
Harvard will then head to Big Green territory for more Ivy play on Friday at 3:00 PM EST. We will be hosting Delaware at Berylson Field in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Sunday at 12pm.
— Staff Writer Mairead B. Baker can be reached at mairead.baker@thecrimson.com. follow her on her twitter @baker_mairead.
