Two unlikely results in Ivy League field hockey this weekend juggled the standings, leaving Brown alone at the top and three teams breathing down its neck.
No. 18 Harvard slipped out of first place in the Ivy League for the first time this season, dropping a 1-0 decision to Cornell Sunday at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. It was the first time the Crimson (7-3, 3-1 Ivy) had been shut out since losing 1-0 to Dartmouth November 1, 1997, a stretch of 29 consecutive games.
The Harvard loss, coupled with No. 19 Brown's surprising 2-1 win over No. 16 Princeton Saturday in Providence, left the Bears (8-1, 4-0) in sole possession of first place, with the Big Red (6-3, 3-1), the Tigers (6-2, 3-1) and the Crimson each one game back.
Princeton, which has won the last five Ivy field hockey crowns, had won 35 straight Ivy games before Saturday.
On Sunday, Cornell's co-captain Kelly Dean finished a feed from sophomore Ashleigh Snelson at 29:16 of the second half to provide the game's only score. It was Dean's fourth goal of the season.
A game-tying goal by the Crimson several minutes later was disallowed by the officials.
Although Harvard dominated the game's offensive statistics, outshooting the Big Red 17-9, Cornell goalkeeper Maureen Sullivan pitched her second shutout of the season, stopping 10 shots and improving her Ivy save percentage to .837.
The Crimson also managed a 14-5 advantage in penalty corners, but could not get any of its chances to fall.
Tri-captain Anya Cowan made five saves for the Crimson, starting after Harvard Coach Sue Caples gave her a day off last Wednesday during a 1-0 win over Quinnipiac. Junior Jen Crusius made her first collegiate start and recorded the shutout.
With the goal, Cowan's save percentage falls to .896.
The reshuffled standings make three games in the last three weeks of the regular season crucial for determining the Ivy winner: Princeton at Harvard Oct. 23, Cornell at Brown Oct. 30 and Harvard at Brown Nov. 6.
Princeton has already beaten Cornell, by 4-0 Sept. 18.
Harvard goes cross-town tomorrow to face Northeastern (5-8, 4-1 America East). The Huskies swept a league weekend, beating Hofstra 2-1 in overtime on Friday and romping over Drexel 6-1 on Sunday. They are the defending conference champions.
Junior Christine Duchemin scored both goals in the Hofstra win, while the Northeastern penalty corner unit was responsible for four of the squad's six goals on Sunday. Midfielder Jackie Carl, a smallish corner hitter, netted all four scores to earn America East player of the week honors.
Read more in Sports
M. Soccer Falls again to Hartwick, 3-1Recommended Articles
-
Gridiron Ivy Play Begins At LastAll right, Ivy League football fans—it’s time to get serious. At this point, I know everyone is sick and tired ...
-
League Plays A Waiting GameNovember at Harvard is a month of being in between. We’re stuck between fall and winter, between Halloween and the Game, between midterms and finals. And in Ancient Eight football, things are no different.
-
Harvard To Play Tigers, QuakersThe open road has always been an outlet for America’s wanderlust, unfolding before its people as a frontier of discovery and imagination. Of course, an hour into any trip, the road begins to lose its mystique.
-
AROUND THE IVIES: Smith Gets Big In Nick Of TimeI wonder what the Thursday night odds were on Smith winning Ivy Player of the Week. He certainly earned the award, racking up 34 points on 93 percent shooting, 16 rebounds, and 16 blocks in the weekend’s two games, including a near-triple-double on Friday. Those are comical numbers for a guy who came into the matchup against Penn averaging 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, but the Crimson wouldn’t have swept the Killer P’s without him.
-
Princeton in Prime Position for Ivy Football TitleThe Tigers have quickly gone from pretender (1-9 in 2011), to contender (3rd in the Ivy League in 2012), to undisputed king. It shouldn’t be that easy.
-
Around the Ivies: One of These Schools is Not Like the Others