The Harvard field hockey team, led by second-year head coach Tjerk Van Herwaarden, hopes to improve upon last year’s rough 3-13 campaign in 2013. When Van Herwaarden arrived in Cambridge last year, he brought with him a new system in hopes of changing the direction of the Crimson’s field hockey program.

The challenges of adjusting to a new system were evident throughout much of last season for Harvard, but now, with 18 players returning from last year’s squad, the Crimson believes that the growth and changes that took place last season will show this year.

“I think we are doing really well with the changes we have put forward,” Van Herwaarden said. “With that in mind, the change means that we need to win more, and I think a great and realistic goal would be to have a winning season this year.”

Harvard will start the year on the road against Massachusetts this Friday night before hosting Bryant for the home opener this Sunday afternoon. The Crimson will begin conference play on Sept. 21 against Yale in New Haven.

Another reason for Van Herwaarden’s positive outlook on the upcoming season stems from the culture shift that has occurred around the team over the past year.

“One thing that shocked me when I first arrived here is that this team didn’t have an identity,” Van Herwaarden said. “I asked them what they liked to be known for, because every team has that, and we just didn’t have anything like that.”

Van Herwaarden went to work on changing this lack of identity by holding meetings with his players and working on a team mission statement. Van Herwaarden believes that these sessions last season helped his team develop an attitude and style of play on the field that will carry over into this season.

If Harvard is to achieve such success, it will be in part thanks to some key returners from last year’s team. Junior Noel Painter will look to lead the Crimson offense again this year after finishing last season with a team-high five goals. Harvard will also get back fellow junior and All-Ivy selection Caitlin Rea who led the team last year with four assists. Rea also played in Team USA’s Women’s National Championship this past May.

For many of these returners, the spring offseason practices served as a time to focus on the team’s new style of play without having to worry about game preparation.

“This past spring was really helpful for us being able to practice with [Coach Van Herwaarden] and learn all of his different philosophies on the game,” sophomore Elizabeth Jacobson said. “He has been able to work with us longer and challenge how we think about the game.”

While her teammates were active participants in these spring practices, Jacobson was stuck on the sideline rehabbing from hip surgery she had last January to repair her torn labrum. After six months of rehab and physical therapy, Jacobson says she can once again run pain-free and will be ready for the start of the season.

Joining the team’s veterans will be six freshmen, a few of whom Van Herwaarden expects to have an immediate impact on the team. Rookie forwards Sarah Finnemore and Marissa Balleza and rookie midfielder Kyla Cordrey should expect to see playing time right away.

“Kyla Cordrey will have a big impact on the midfield,” Van Herwaarden said. “Marissa Balleza and Sarah Finnemore both have scoring ability. People will know who these freshmen are after this season.”

With freshmen being relied upon for valuable minutes, Van Herwaarden will look to his veteran leaders to guide the team early in the year. With that said, Van Herwaarden acknowledges that the team lacks natural leaders but thinks it does work well as a unit.

“I think one of the biggest things about this group is that we don’t have very defined leaders that would just be able to control a game and take over,” Van Herwaarden says. “We are going depend on the whole entire team to perform and do well on any given day.”

Not only will Van Herwaarden be depending on his entire squad to work together and lead, he will also be looking for them to embrace a new attacking style of play.

“[This season] I would love to play with a lot of attacking flow and creativity, Van Herwaarden said. “We love to see creativity in our offense. Creativity is just so important to encourage because it shows a love of the game and that they have a passion for it.”

—Staff writer M. Ty Aderhold can be reached at michael.aderhold@thecrimson.com.