Though the Crimson ultimately fell in overtime, Harvard competed as valiantly as it had all season in extending the America East champions to their limit.

“It was a demonstration of how resilient our team is and how hard we’ve worked,” says outgoing captain Carly Dickson, a first-team All-Ivy selection. “New Hampshire was one of the top teams in the country, and we competed, held our own, and even outplayed them for part of the game.”

With the loss, the Crimson’s record fell to an even 8-8, and a season-ending defeat at Columbia dropped Harvard to its final tally. But as an outgoing senior, Dickson was pleased with the team’s development, particularly from the low point of 2010.

“Being competitive with those top teams made practices much better,” Dickson says. “The quality across the board was really strong, and everyone was competing 100 percent.”

The departure of Caples and the entrance of van Herwaarden brings Harvard field hockey into a new coaching era for the first time in a quarter century. Though the parting with Caples was bittersweet, Dickson feels confident the program was headed in the right direction, with more success to come in 2012.

“[The seniors] are happy leaving the team in a good spot,” Dickson says. “There’s a lot of momentum going into next year, and it’s exciting for us to look forward to what’s going to come with them.”

—Staff writer Andrew R. Mooney can be reached at mooney@college.harvard.edu.