No. 15 Harvard Pulls Away in the Fourth to Defeat Big Green, 4-0

Friday, September 15

Cambridge, Mass.

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

(2-2 (0-1Ivy))

Harvard

(3-2 (1-0Ivy))

Dartmouth

Harvard

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

No. 15 Harvard Pulls Away in the Fourth to Defeat Big Green, 4-0

9/15/2023 9:13:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Ava Carlson made six saves in goal

By: Justin Lafleur

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — For three quarters, the Dartmouth field hockey team hung neck-and-neck with 15th ranked Harvard, but the Crimson scored twice in the span of 2:41 early in the fourth to double their lead, on the way to downing the Big Green, 4-0 on Friday. In what was the Ivy League opener for both sides, senior Lila Browne had a shot on goal early in the second quarter that would have tied the score, but Harvard scored at the 25:52 mark to take a 2-0 halftime lead, a margin that would stand until early in the fourth.

With the win, Harvard improves to 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in Ivy League play. Dartmouth falls to 2-2 and 0-1 in the Ivy.

"As we expected, Harvard came out and was a very strong team," said Dartmouth head coach Mark Egner. "Credit to them; they definitely deserved to win. At moments, we showed our ability, but we need to be able to deliver that for longer periods of times in games. Ultimately, today wasn't good enough."

A defensive start saw just four total first-quarter shots, all by Harvard, and only two on goal. Junior Ava Carlson made her first save of the game at the 4:41 mark, but she couldn't stop Marie Schaefers from scoring off the Crimson's first penalty corner of the contest.

Dartmouth had an offensive burst early in the second quarter, but couldn't net the equalizer. A few minutes later, it looked like Harvard had doubled its lead off a corner, but it was too high and not deflected.

Not long after, the Crimson would go on to score their second goal, as Kitty Chapple scored at 25:52 off a corner.

Harvard held a 5-1 edge in third-quarter shots, with Dartmouth's chance coming off the stick of Browne. The senior found herself with a prime scoring chance in the circle, but her shot went just wide. On the other end, Carlson made four third-quarter saves, including an impressive sequence of stops in the final 1:11 of the period.

How about this save from Ava Carlson today at Harvard?!

Check out multiple angles for your viewing pleasure. #NFHCAPlay | #SCTop10 | @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/qPGGI2zUkq
— DartmouthFieldHockey (@DartmouthFH) September 15, 2023

The Big Green couldn't build momentum into the fourth as Harvard finished with a 4-0 edge in shots, putting two of them behind Carlson — at the 47:34 and 50:15 marks — to wrap up the 4-0 win.

"At times, we were able to able to control the play, which was definitely a positive," said sophomore Florentina Terra. "But we've just got to keep working, keep going hard, keep trying to win those 50-50 balls and keep pushing. There's a lot of season left so we just have to keep working hard."

Final shots were 17-3 in favor of Harvard while the Crimson held a 9-2 edge in penalty corners. Carlson made six saves across Sofia Castore, who tallied one.

"There were some phases of play when we strung some beautiful passes together," said Egner. "We were able to generate a couple of opportunities. We need to take those. But to be in the game the way we were at times was really positive and really exciting. We just need to build off that while fine-tuning some of the things that need to improve."

The Big Green return to action next weekend when they travel to upstate New York to face Cornell on Friday (4 p.m.) and Colgate on Sunday (12 p.m.).

Head coach Mark Egner following today's game at No. 15 Harvard#GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/HCmynVRnrg
— DartmouthFieldHockey (@DartmouthFH) September 16, 2023

Hear from Florentina Terra following today's loss at No. 15 Harvard#GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/gvzF05Etet
— DartmouthFieldHockey (@DartmouthFH) September 16, 2023