Despite a frustrating scoreless first half and a 1-0 deficit early in the second, the Harvard field hockey team (6-2, 3-0 Ivy) caught fire midway through the second half to beat Penn (1-5, 0-3), 3-1 on Saturday.

The Crimson collected its fourth win in four games on the new synthetic turf of Jordan Field, and is now tied with five-time defending champion Princeton for first place in the Ivy.

The Crimson failed to score until 22:19 remained in the second half, after Penn had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by midfielder Leah Bills at 33:17 of the second.

The Crimson went ahead 2-1 on the strength of two goals within two minutes of one another by junior forward Kate Nagle and tri-captain Dominique Kalil, who each netted her sixth of the season. Nagle has now scored in six consecutive games.

With 10:45 remaining in the game, sophomore forward Katie Turck sealed the game with her first career goal.

Although Harvard had many chances to score in the first half--both on breakaways and penalty corners--it was not able to capitalize on any of the opportunities.

"We were sluggish in the first half; we just weren't very hungry to win," said tri-captain Anya Cowan, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week last week.

"The team needed to make some adjustments," said Harvard Coach Sue Caples. "We needed to step up to the ball and be first to it, and to open up the field."