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Nationally ranked No. 7, Harvard Field Hockey (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) hit the road for its opening weekend of competition, traveling South to take on William & Mary (0-4) and No. 18 Wake Forest (0-3). The games marked the Crimson’s first two battles of the 2024 season. The Harvard team will look to build on its playoff momentum from the past few seasons. In 2021, the Crimson lost in overtime to Northwestern in the NCAA Final Four. Then, last year, Harvard was defeated by the University of North Carolina in the quarterfinals. Notably, both Northwestern and UNC won the championships in 2021 and 2023, respectively. This fall, the Crimson team will look to extend its success deep into the postseason.

Harvard 6, William & Mary 0

Harvard had an explosive opening game against William & Mary, earning a commanding 6-0 win. Just four minutes into regulation play, junior Fiene Oerlemans set up sophomore Lara Beekhuis who notched the Crimson’s first goal of the season. Nine minutes later, first-year Emily Bronckers carried on Harvard’s offensive push, adding a point of her own to the scoreboard. At the end of the first quarter, the Crimson was up 2-0.

In the following fifteen minutes, Bronckers netted another goal, capitalizing on a second assist from Oerlemans. Harvard’s scoring drive accelerated throughout the remainder of regulation play. In the second half, Lucy Leel, Bronte-May Brough, and Sara Silarszka each scored goals, effectively preventing any opportunity for the William & Mary Tribe to stage a comeback.

“One thing we are constantly focusing on as a team is capitalizing on our offensive opportunities,” sophomore Kate Oliver noted. “We pride ourselves on our team defense and our stats showcase the strength of our backfield (Tessa Shahbo has the top save percentage in the country right now). We have historically struggled with converting on goal, but that is a key focus area for this year to take control of games earlier.”

Throughout most of the contest, the Crimson maintained possession of the ball which allowed it to effectively capitalize on its offensive opportunities. By controlling the pace of play, Harvard was effectively able to pummel the Tribe’s goalies Maddie George and Alexandra de Jesus with 26 total shots. George, the graduate student from Chesapeake, Virginia, played against Harvard for 57 minutes – the vast majority of the game – and tallied an impressive 15 total saves. That being said, her effort alone was not enough to stop the Crimson from lighting up the scoreboard.

“This past weekend, we were able to utilize the depth of our roster so we had lots of rotations on the field to show all of our offensive threats and defensive strengths,” Oliver noted. “This was the best first game we have had since I have been on the team and it makes me really excited to start from here and grow.”

Defensively, Harvard showed great skill, keeping the Tribe to only one shot for the entire game. The Crimson’s starting goalie, Shahbo, did not face any shots during the first three quarters of play. Sofia Castore, a senior goalie from Houston Texas, also did not have to make a save during the final quarter, as William & Mary was unable to get their single shot on net. The Crimson left Williamsburg after a dominant win from both offensive and defensive standpoints.

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Harvard 1, Wake Forest 0

The Harvard team headed next to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to take on No. 18 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons had a record of 0-2 before facing the Crimson, which did not reflect the strength of Harvard's opponent as the North Carolina program had only lost to highly-ranked opponents. Wake Forest opened its season against the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes, losing 1-0 in a dramatic overtime shootout. The Deacons were then defeated 2-1 by the No. 12 Michigan Wolverines.

During the first 30 minutes of play, the Crimson and the Demon Deacons battled evenly. At the end of the half, the score remained tied, locked at a 0-0 standstill. Harvard had recorded five shots and Wake Forest had four. However, six minutes into the second half of the contest, the Crimson’s captain Emily Guckian scored on a penalty stroke. The goal was the first of the season for the Weybridge, England native. Guckian’s point was the only goal scored during the game, granting Harvard the 1-0 win.

Statistically, the Crimson had the advantage in both shots on goal, five compared to Wake Forest’s three, and penalty corner opportunities, eight and six respectively. Harvard’s defense, spurred by Shahbo, recorded its second straight shutout, preventing all six of the Deacon’s fourth-quarter shots from finding their target. Shahbo specifically had a stellar final 15 minutes of play, as she made two incredible saves to defend Harvard’s one-goal lead.

After winning both games away this weekend, the Crimson will head back to Cambridge and begin preparing for its next opponents. Harvard will first take on No. 19 UAlbany (3-1) on Friday, Sept 12. The Great Danes recently bested Cornell 3-2 in a shootout win, and will prove to be a test for the Crimson who look to prepare themselves for Ivy League play. Then, on Sunday, Sept 15, the Crimson will battle against No. 16 University of Connecticut (5-0). The Huskies are also undefeated this season and have recorded wins against impressive foes including a 4-0 victory against Brown, a formidable Ivy League competitor.

“We focus on going one game at a time, so looking at this weekend, we want to have strong games against both opponents. We are doing our usual film and pregame processes for each game; the only things that will change are specific tactical components based on what we see on film,” Oliver said. “Having our home opener be against two top-20 teams is a great opportunity and we want to make sure we stick to our playing style; it allows us to get into a flow where we can dominate regardless of how other teams play.”

Tune in to ESPN+ today at 4:00 pm EST to watch Harvard take on the UAlbany Great Danes on Berylson Field.

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