HARVARD 24, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE 5
Often tough losses make teams lie down, especially because the chance of earning a spot in the title game was dwindling. But adrenaline from the Army game kicked in, which compounded with the motivation to end on a high note for the seniors.
“These were some of the same teams that we had been playing during our previous tournaments,” Weigel said. “But it was good to have some time off from them and really hone in our own skills as a team and then to play them again and see how much we’ve grown and improved.”
The younger players on the team understood the significance of the final tournament. Sophomore Genevieve Quirion had her try sandwiched by two scores from star freshman Delia Hellander as Harvard rocketed out to a 17-0 halftime lead.
After the break, the two teams traded tries, as the margin that the Crimson had built proved insurmountable. The result is especially impressive considering that the Yellow Jackets faced the Black Knights in the final of this tournament last year. In a change of pace, Harvard has outclassed the Western Mass. squad multiple times this season.
ARMY 26, HARVARD 7
After coming off a lesser opponent, the Crimson faced a much tougher task that forced the team to switch into higher gear. Army’s more composed squad forced Harvard not to simply rely on tactical advantages but rather physical fundamentals that the team had recently practiced.
“In practice, a lot of our work has been on the point of contact,” Weigel said. “So when you are an attacker and you have the ball, just fighting through and keep your feet and driving your feet all the way until your teammates tell you to go down. And on defense, we have been really focusing on staying connected in our wall and making sure that the ball carrier on the other team doesn’t have anywhere to go.”
Army jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the first half, but the play was closer than the score indicated. The tight contest featured numerous calls, but Harvard was still in the game going into one of its most important halves of the season as it contended for a spot in the title game.
Learned was able to keep the game close after a call set up Harvard deep in Army’s defensive zone. But fortune ran thin, and the Cadets benefited from several whistled penalties. Bad breaks alone did not do in Harvard, as Army played with bruising effectiveness. The Cadets ultimately landed in the finals of the tournament.
“Army’s definitely one of the most physical teams in the entire nation, and that’s just a product of them being a part of the US Army,” Weigel said. “Their entire job is to be physically fit for combat. They were definitely the toughest team to face in contact. That game, overall, gave us a lot of passion moving forward because we were hanging with them.”
HARVARD 17, WEST CHESTER 7
Facing a lesser team to start the team’s last tournament of the season, the Crimson had a prime opportunity to jumpstart its offense and get prepared for the toughest pool matchup of the day against Army. The Crimson dominated the start of the game. Early on, the team stole a line-out and subsequently punched in the try. The team was then able to get another score soon after its ensuring kick-off.
But that sequence might have been the best the Crimson played all game. Numerous miscues in handling the ball, including several knock-ons, forced a relatively close 12-0 score at the half. Harvard was able to put the game out of reach by virtue of an early try.
Early struggles aside, the strong finish during the afternoon fits in with the team’s culture of constant improvement as the young varsity squad becomes its own. This year, the team dropped just five games and won its second consecutive Ivy title.
—Staff writer William Quan can be reached at william.quan@thecrimson.com.