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The No. 8 Harvard field hockey team (5-1, 0-0 Ivy League) continued its impressive run this past weekend, improving to 5-1 on the season. For its first game of the weekend, the Crimson headed up to Hanover to kick off Ivy League play against the Dartmouth Big Green (1-4, 0-1 Ivy League). The team then ventured further north to Burlington to face off against the University of Vermont Catamounts (2-5, 1-0 America East). Harvard excelled in both games, posting a solid 3-1 win over the Big Green and a 4-1 victory against the Catamounts.

Harvard 3, Dartmouth 1

The Crimson began its intra-league competition with a game against Dartmouth on Saturday. Harvard was eager to live up to the hype off its top-10 national ranking, while the Big Green hoped to build on its winning momentum after defeating Sacred Heart last week. Both teams were entering their first Ivy League match of the season, and as such were hoping to inch closer towards that end of season Ivy League Tournament crown.

Junior forward Kate Oliver set the tone early for Harvard. Oliver initiated the Crimson’s scoring streak, notching the first goal of the game just 12 minutes into play. Oliver’s goal marked the second of the season for the St. Louis, MO native. After seven more minutes of Harvard shooting on Dartmouth’s net, Lucy Leel, the senior from London, England, hammered home a shot of her own. Like Oliver, the goal was the second of the season for Leel. Spurred by the two-point lead, the Crimson maintained offensive pressure on the Big Green. Seven minutes before the halftime mark, sophomore Sage Piekarski fired off an assist which was elegantly put away by Harvard’s captain Emily Guckian.

By the halftime whistle, the Crimson had established an impressive 3-0 lead over Dartmouth, an advantage it would be able to hold through the second half. During the first 30 minutes, the Crimson had tallied seven shots and kept the Big Green to a mere two. However, after the rest, the Dartmouth team returned to Chase Field with renewed energy. The Big Green quickly fired off a shot and earned a corner opportunity within the first five minutes of the second half. Thanks to Harvard’s defensive unit, spearheaded by junior goalkeeper Tessa Shahbo – who boasts the highest save percentage in the nation – Dartmouth was unable to capitalize on the offensive chance.

It was not until the fourth quarter that the Big Green was able to add a point to the scoreboard. Lucia Campaño, Dartmouth’s sophomore from Buenos Aires, tapped a shot past Shahbo in the final minutes of play. Campaño’s goal was assisted by Helen Young, the senior from Houston, TX. The scoring opportunity resulted from a corner play, preventing Shahbo and the Crimson’s defense from securing the shutout.

Despite giving up the late goal, the game was clearly a decisive win for the Harvard team. The Crimson outshot the Big Green 14-6. Impressively, Harvard recorded nine of its shots on goal, forcing the Dartmouth goaltender, Kylie McKinley, to stand on her head with six saves. The Crimson’s offensive success within the first half carried the team through the whole 60 minutes, confirming the win for Harvard.

“Saturday was a strong start to Ivy League play,” Guckian explained. “We were able to build confidence ahead of Brown next weekend with a convincing win and three team goals.”

Harvard 4, University of Vermont 1

After extending its winning streak against Dartmouth, the Crimson made the trek to Burlington to face off against the Catamounts. Vermont entered the game with offensive momentum, as the team beat both Wagner and America East foe UC Davis in its past two games. Harvard’s skill level was once again on full display.

In a similar fashion to the game against Dartmouth, Oliver opened up the scoring. In the second quarter, sophomore Lara Beekhuis, the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, set up Oliver with the stellar offensive opportunity off of a penalty shot. Oliver slammed the goal past the Catamounts’ goalie, Ila Gunner, in the 18th minute of play.

Although the Crimson spent the game pummeling Gunner with shots, none other than Oliver’s found their mark during the early minutes of the contest. In fact, within the first 45 minutes of play alone, Harvard sent 21 shots flying toward Gunner.

That being said, a mere two minutes into the final quarter of play, junior Fiene Oerlemans extended the lead for the Crimson, lighting up the scoreboard for her first time this season. Three minutes later, Guckian added a goal of her own off of a penalty stroke.

The Catamounts responded quickly, as Lauren Schellhamer capitalized on an assist from Lotte Kanters. Schellhamer’s goal was the only one scored by Vermont during the contest. While the goal prevented Harvard’s senior goalkeeper Sofia Castore from maintaining a shutout, it was not enough to allow the Catamounts to ignite a comeback effort. In the final minute of play, the Crimson’s Beekhuis sealed the victory for Harvard with a goal of her own.

“We had a quick turnaround to play Vermont on Sunday,” Guckian said. “It was a solid performance with lots of attacking power that allowed us to stay in control and put four goals past them.”

In the end, Harvard recorded an astounding 26 shots, tying its season-high record set against William & Mary. Vermont, on the other hand, only posted six tries on Shahbo. Ila Gunner, the Catamounts goalie, tallied an impressive 11 saves. However, her effort was not enough to keep the Crimson’s offensive onslaught at bay. With the win, Harvard improved to 5-1 on the season and shifted its focus toward its upcoming foray against Ivy League opponents.

Next weekend, on Saturday, Sept. 28, the Crimson will take on the Brown Bears (2-4, 1-0 Ivy League) in Providence, RI. The Bears have already defeated the Yale Bulldogs (4-2, 0-1 Ivy League) this year. The game between the Bulldogs and the Bears went into double overtime, suggesting that Ivy League competition will be fiercely competitive this year. Last season, the Crimson narrowly beat Brown 1-0, so the Harvard team will have to show up at Brown in style to extend its winning streak into 2024.

Tune in to ESPN+ on Saturday at 1:00 pm EST to watch the Harvard Crimson continue its Ivy League campaign against the Brown Bears.

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