Despite 30-degree temperatures and dreary weather, a season-high crowd of 487 braved the elements and paid upwards of $7 for tickets to attend Jordan Field’s first NCAA game on Saturday.
Like the Harvard team itself, the crowd was slow to get going before coming on strong in the second half.
While the newly won fans were much appreciated by the team, they naturally had no understanding of the most basic rules of field hockey.
In the final minute, Michigan St.ate allowed a forceful midfield drive from Liz Andrews to land harmlessly in the net. Since field hockey requires that all goals must be touched inside the circle, it’s actually to a team’s advantage to avoid making contact with such a ball.
Many of the Harvard fans, ignorant of such strategy, erupted in cheers thinking Andrews had just scored a spectacular goal from midfield to tie the game. The cheers quickly subsided when the fans noticed subdued emotions from players on the field and stupid looks from others in the crowd.
Tale of Two Halves
An unnamed NCAA-competing coach praised Harvard on Saturday for its ability to make halftime adjustments and play smart, as stereotypical as that sounds.
But no doubt it was true, as Michigan State was thoroughly humbled in the second half. How astounding was Harvard’s 20-2 shot margin in the second half? Only No. 1 Old Dominion had mustered 20 shots on the Spartans in a full game this season, let alone a half.
One of the keys to Harvard’s turnaround was that it started to play a small possession game in the second half. Michigan State was putting numbers on the ball when Harvard had possession. The Crimson was able to counteract that by ensuring its other players weren’t playing way above the ball.
“They were able to find the free player and they were able to open our lines a bit so we couldn’t pressure,” said Spartan coach Michele Madison.
On the rare occasion when the Spartans did have the ball in the second half, the Harvard defense gave nothing, unlike the first half.
“[In the] second half we tightened up our zone,” said Harvard coach Sue Caples. “We wanted to make sure we weren’t standing behind their players. Once we settled down, we did not give up anything.”
Harvard’s adjustments took their toll all over the field. The Spartan backs were on their heels all half. They started to feel the pressure and committed one sloppy turnover after another. Too many of the mistakes went for naught, however, as Harvard could not finish with a high enough frequency.
The Hot Corner
Junior Liz Andrews has been Harvard’s primary force on penalty corners all season and never was she more successful than Saturday.
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