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This past weekend the No. 9 Harvard women’s field hockey team (9-1, 3-0 Ivy League) defended its home turf with wins against historic rival Yale (6-4, 1-2 Ivy League) and fellow Charles River foe Boston University (5-5, 2-1 Patriot League). Following a decisive 3-1 win against the Bulldogs on Friday, the Crimson set its sights on toppling BU. On Sunday, Harvard successfully beat the Terriers, extending its winning streak to seven straight games with a 2-1 victory.

Harvard 3, Yale 1

On the crisp fall evening, Harvard and Yale faced off on Berylson Field Hockey Field under the shining Friday night lights. Keeping with the Crimson’s offensive pattern this season, the home team kicked off the scoring early in the game. In the 13th minute of play, sophomore Sage Piekarski drove towards Yale’s goal, forcing the Bulldog’s goalie, Alexa Pitts, to advance and pressure the ball. In a selfless feat, Piekarski, the local from Concord, Mass., sent the ball to her teammate, sophomore Kate Oliver. Oliver, who was prepared to score from the near post, hammered the ball home, tallying the first goal of the weekend and her fifth of the 2024 season. Oliver has proven to be a strong catalyst on the offensive end of the field, and will continue to be a player to watch as the team continues through its schedule this fall.

The Crimson’s success on the scoreboard did not stop with Oliver, as the home team continued to press the pedal to the metal in the second quarter. Harvard’s offense put extensive pressure on the Bulldogs’ defense as they fired shots on net. After being outshot 2-1 by the Bulldogs in the first fifteen minutes of the contest, the Crimson’s six-to-one shooting effort in the second quarter set a powerful tone for the remainder of the game. Not only was the team able to get six shots off, but Harvard’s defensive unit was also able to prevent Yale from getting a clean scoring opportunity.

Lara Beekhuis, a sophomore midfielder, capitalized quickly on the Crimson’s momentum, snagging a rebounded ball and sending it over Pitts’s head and into the back of the net. Beekhuis has played extraordinarily well this fall. The Laren, Netherlands native has already notched six goals and one assist this season, leading the team in offensive points.

A mere seven minutes after Beekhuis’s goal, senior forward Lucy Leel further extended the lead for Harvard. Leel scored off of another rebound opportunity initiated by the Crimson’s first penalty corner of the game. With her effort, Leel recorded her third goal of the year and set her teammates up for success, providing a comfortable three goal lead before the whistles blew, signaling for halftime.

After the break, the Crimson continued to show fierce offensive prowess, creating multiple scoring chances in the early minutes of the third quarter. Harvard’s defense, backed by last week’s Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week junior Tessa Shahbo in goal, was persistent in its aggressive style of play, working to prevent Yale from staging a comeback. That being said, despite being outshot five-to-two, Yale’s Lauren Venter was able to sneak a goal into the back of the Crimson’s net with just three minutes remaining in the quarter.

Harvard’s defensive unit continued to protect its net through the final 15 minutes of regulation. The Bulldogs managed to get two shots off, but during the entirety of the game, only three of Yale’s seven shots made it on net. Thanks to the Crimson’s defensive effort in the final 15 minutes, the scoreboard remained at 3-1 until the final whistle.

Harvard now boasts a 3-0 record within the Ivy League. The Crimson looks to continue its intra-league success in hopes of hosting the Ivy League Tournament later this season. That being said, after its win against Yale, the team had to quickly shift focus to its next opponent, an out-of-league foe, the Boston University Terriers.

Harvard 2, Boston University 1

After just one day of rest following the rivalry contest, the Crimson returned to Berylson Field to take on the Terriers under a perfectly clear fall sky on Sunday afternoon. BU had faced some talented opponents prior to taking on Harvard, notably playing games against No. 6 University of Michigan and No. 11 Boston College. Although BU was defeated by both of these teams, the Terriers are used to a high level of competition, and as such, posed a threat to the Crimson team that has so far been dominant this season.

Unlike its game against Yale, Harvard was unable to score in the first half of play against BU. Although the Crimson recorded six shots in the first 30 minutes of the contest, none of the four that made it onto net got past the Terriers’ goaltender Kate Thomason. The Crimson’s defense lived up to its high national ranking, preventing BU from scoring and keeping the team to one shot throughout the entirety of the half. At the halftime mark, the score remained locked at a 0-0 standstill.

During the third quarter, Harvard advanced its offensive momentum, firing three more shots at Thomason. It was not until the 43rd minute of play that a shot, fired by captain Emily Guckian, finally found its mark in the back of the net. Guckian’s goal was the fourth of the season for the Weybridge, England native.

The home team seized the opportunity to capitalize on Guckian’s success, which inspired fellow senior Maddie Mullaney to drive to the net. After averting BU’s defenders, Mullaney sent a stellar pass to Emily Bronckers. The freshman, hailing from Blaricum, Netherlands, was set up perfectly within the goal circle and nailed the shot expertly past Thomason. Bronckers’ goal, assisted by Mullaney, was only a minute after Guckian’s point. In a surge of offensive momentum, the Crimson headed into the fourth quarter of play with a two goal lead.

Notably, Mullaney, the Crimson’s senior from Boxford Ma. was forced to face off against her little sister, Grace, who is a sophomore midfielder for BU. The sisters, who were once teammates during their time at the Pingree School, have played against each other twice since Grace became a Terrier in 2023.

“It was so fun playing against my sister one last time,” Mullaney said. “She is a great player, and at times we were even marking each other.”

After Mullaney and Bronckers boosted the Crimson’s lead with the second goal of the game, BU fought desperately for a comeback spark in the final 15 minutes. The fourth quarter marked the first time that afternoon that BU tied the Crimson in shots per period, sending five towards Shahbo in the final few minutes. The Terriers’ Natalie Epperson, a junior from Mequon, WI, managed to capitalize on a shot, clawing BU back to a one goal deficit. However, Epperson’s goal, scored in the 52nd minute of play, was not enough to spur the Terriers past Harvard’s formidable defense. Shahbo tallied four impressive saves, keeping the Crimson in the lead. The defensive effort, paired with its offensive domination, carried Harvard to a 2-1 victory, sending the Terriers back across the river defeated by yet another top-10 opponent.

“We were eventually able to find our flow with our passes,” Mullaney reflected on the contest against BU. “Our focus going into the next game is to finish the ball all the way into the back of the net.”

After a successful weekend in Cambridge, the Harvard team will hit the road on Friday, Oct. 11 to battle against its fellow Ivy League opponent, Columbia (3-6, 1-2 Ivy League). Despite its losing record, the Lions have played many close games against challenging Ivy League opponents, notably a tight 2-1 loss in overtime to UPenn, and a close 1-0 loss to No. 14 Princeton. After its contest in New York, the Crimson will travel west to Evanston, IL. on Sunday where the squad will look to tackle No. 2 Northwestern (12-0, 5-0 Big 10). The Crimson will hope to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Tune in to ESPN+ on Friday at 3:00 pm EDT to watch the Harvard Crimson continue Ivy League play against Columbia in New York, NY.

—Staff writer Isabel Smail can be reached at isabel.smail@thecrimson.com