On a field drenched even worse than the Cambridge streets, the Harvard field hockey team (6-8, 2-3 Ivy) lost to No. 5 Princeton on Saturday.
"We were going to have a tough fight with them regardless, but the weather made things more difficult," said cocaptain Amy DiMarzio. "It was harder to push the ball and make passes through puddles. But we both had to play through it."
However, the worsening conditions made the second half more difficult.
"People were getting cold, and the rain was intensifying," DiMarzio said. "Things just kind of fell apart a little bit."
Harvard allowed just one goal in the first half, but surrendered two more in the second. Just three minutes after intermission, Princeton's Christine Hunsicker scored her first goal of the year.
Amy MacFarlane, who had tallied Princeton's first goal, scored her second goal of the game on a Molly O'Malley assist.
Princeton might have scored one more goal, but sophomore goalie Anya Cowan thwarted a penalty stroke in the second half keeping the score at only 2-0.
"It was a pressure situation, and [another Princeton goal] would have made it that much worse," said junior Judy Collins.
The Tigers concentrated the bulk of their efforts against Cowan in the first half, bombarding her with 15 shots. However, Cowan stopped all but one and finished the day with a 17-save performance.
"Anya always rises to the occasion and puts forth her best effort," DiMarzio said. "We definitely didn't help her out as much as we should have."
Princeton, which launched 22 shots, held Harvard to just three.
"We had a few corner chances, but we were just not on offense altogether too much," DiMarzio said.
The Princeton strategy of using short passes was more successful than Harvard's use of long balls.
"We were trying to hit long balls, but in the mud and the rain, they weren't going through," Collins said.
While both teams seemed equal in speed, Princeton frequently out-pursued Harvard to the ball.
"I didn't notice much of a speed difference, but Princeton was quicker to the ball," DiMarzio said. "They had very fast passing."
"They had a lot of attack," Collins said. "It took us a while to generate a response."
Further damaging the Crimson offense, Harvard had to shoot into a circle that was worse than the other due to the weather.
This week, Harvard plays two ranked teams on the road--No. 9 Northeastern University (N.U.) on Wednesday and No. 18 Dartmouth on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the team seeks to get its quick game back against Northeastern.
Harvard also looks to win its first turf game of the season against N.U.
Wednesday's game poses crucial implications for Harvard's ECAC quest. To gain consideration for a postseason berth, teams must finish above .500. Harvard must win its next three to accomplish this.
"It's coming down to the very end for us," DiMarzio said. "We need to keep practicing and playing hard [against N.U.]." Scoring Prin--A. MacFarlane (A. Reich) 9:13. Prin--C. Hunsicker (unassisted) 31:51. Prin--MacFarlane (M. O'Malley) 9:23. Saves: Har--A. Cowan 17; Prin--G. Fruscione 3. Shots: Har--3; Prin--22.
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RAINED OUT
