Northeastern field hockey (4-3, 0-0 CAA) suffered a 2-0 loss to the Harvard University Crimson (6-0, 0-0 Ivy League) despite putting up a remarkable defensive effort against the No. 5 team. The Huskies, who were ranked No. 31 by the NCAA last year, blocked eight of Harvard’s 10 shots on goal and made four shots on goal.
Junior captain, midfielder and forward Alex Mega was the leading shooter with three shots on goal. Graduate student goalkeeper Arabella Loveridge made eight saves, six of which were corner penalty shots.
Harvard kicked things off with a shot that went wide less than a minute in. When senior forward Emilia Adragna took possession, two Harvard attackers trapped her on the right sideline, but she carried the ball out on her stick.
A Harvard attacker later attempted a sweep at the midline to get the ball back to Northeastern’s goal, but Adragna rushed to her and blocked so closely that the Harvard attacker’s stick hit hers. Harvard quickly regained possession after the foul. Sophomore defender Camille Armaganian trapped the ball-keeper in the left corner, forcing the ball off the field.
When Harvard earned a corner, Loveridge laid across the goal and blocked the ball with her hand.
Freshman defender Lucy Walton popped an aerial to Harvard’s side, but Harvard intercepted and brought the ball back about five minutes in. The Huskies struggled to take the ball out of their half, but their defenders kept the quarter scoreless.
Senior captain, midfielder and defender Maya Prasad stole the ball at the quarter line and passed it up to senior midfielder and defender Ashley Pappas, but it bounced off her stick and rolled over the line.
Once Northeastern was in possession about 14 minutes in, Walton hit the ball down to Harvard’s side, where its defenders quickly intercepted. Throughout the game, Harvard defenders controlled the ball on their side with long passes until they found an opportunity to drive the ball back to Northeastern’s goal.
“We made Harvard work really hard to get any attacking opportunities,” head coach Pam Spuehler said. “We had a lot of pride in the way we defended today. It was really pleasing to see the way we did full-team defense.”
In the first half, the Huskies at the midfield solidly defended the center line but sacrificed opportunities to rush Harvard’s side and steal the ball.
The Crimson were excellent passers, but when they regained possession, a poor reception caused the ball to bounce off a player’s stick, and senior defender Ava Tello stole the ball.
Another shot on goal by Harvard went wide to the right. Shortly after, Loveridge slid to block another shot with her shins.
At the top of the second quarter, Harvard was in possession, but senior forward Emmy Stubbs intercepted and ran the ball up to Harvard’s side. The Crimson stole it back, but not before Northeastern attackers had time to rush, and their pressure forced Harvard to knock the ball out of bounds.
A strong hit by Prasad brought the ball close to Harvard’s goal, but the Huskies missed their opportunity to shoot in a fight over possession with the Crimson defenders.
A Harvard player tripped forward while trying to receive a pass as Armaganian intercepted, granting the ball to Northeastern.
When Harvard earned a corner, Husky defenders rushed the goal in time to block the shot. Overall, defenders excelled at never letting Harvard keep the ball for long, though Harvard did the same to the Huskies.
After the shot, senior defender Tori Postler passed the ball from the back line to Armaganian, who sent it to freshman midfielder Jessica Garden, who then passed to Prasad at the midline. But Harvard midfielders still quickly reached Prasad, who fouled and gave the ball to the Crimson.
With nine minutes left, Harvard made a weak shot on goal under defensive pressure that Loveridge kicked away. Northeastern took the ball, and Harvard attackers trapped the players in the back, but solid passes kept it in Husky possession. Postler finally made a powerful hit to the midline, but the aim was lacking and Harvard easily intercepted.
Northeastern defenders attempted to aerial the ball onto Harvard’s side a few times since the Huskies struggled to get it through the midfield with regular passes, but Harvard always intercepted.
“They’re able to possess the ball really well, so that’s something I’d like us to be able to do a little bit better when we have the attacking opportunities,” Spuehler said. “But we took them out of their comfort zone, so although they had possession, it was uncomfortable possession.”
Down on Harvard’s side with about two minutes left in the half, senior midfielder and defender Anna-Kate Domingue hit a clean reverse toward the goal. Harvard defenders fought for the ball with Northeastern attackers right in front of the goalkeeper but the Crimson cleared it out.
When Harvard ran it back to Northeastern’s side, the Huskies briefly stole the ball at the midline, but Harvard soon stole it back and reached the goal. The Crimson scored by drawing Loveridge out to the right and hitting the left side of the net, leading 1-0 with a minute remaining.
For the rest of the second quarter, Northeastern managed to keep the ball on Harvard’s side and earned a corner. Mega caught the inserted ball, but Harvard defenders rushed toward her before she could make a good shot.
The second half started with Northeastern in possession and Harvard’s immediate interception. The Crimson sent a shot on goal wide to the left — it looked like a setup for a tip, but nobody caught the ball and followed through.
Under heavy pressure from Harvard, Armaganian tripped forward and lost the ball, though she grabbed it back and passed to Garden. Garden stayed strong surrounded by Harvard attackers but gave up the ball in a two-on-one.
Prasad hit the ball from Northeastern’s left corner strong enough to reach Harvard’s side, but its side of the field was clear of Northeastern attackers, so the Crimson intercepted. Back at Northeastern’s circle, they received a corner penalty, in which the Husky defense rushed the Harvard receiver in plenty of time to stop her from making a clear shot.
With five minutes left in the third quarter, Northeastern made it back to Harvard’s side. A Harvard attacker intercepted a pass back by Walton and ran the ball down to Northeastern’s empty half, but Northeastern’s defense sprinted and assembled just in time to prevent her from making an easy shot.
Back in Northeastern’s circle, a defender fouled while trying to take the ball from a Harvard player, granting the Crimson a corner. That corner proved dangerous for the Huskies: the Harvard shooter sent the ball straight down the circle and into the goal to go up 2-0 with less than three minutes left.
Harvard aimed its last shot of the quarter to the right corner of the goal, and Loveridge jumped up to block it.
Adragna made Northeastern’s first shot of the fourth quarter 30 seconds in, but the ball bounced off the post.
A Harvard player stole the ball near the midline and ran it down to Northeastern’s goal before defenders could make it back. In blocking the inevitable shot, Loveridge’s stick collided with the Harvard player’s, granting Harvard a one-on-goalie penalty stroke. Loveridge was unable to block the ball, but the shooter committed a foul that invalidated the goal.
When Prasad had the ball on the quarter line of Harvard’s side, she passed it back to Postler. It bounced off of Postler’s stick and she ran to regain it, but that gave Harvard attackers time to catch up to her and lay on the pressure, forcing her to make a messy pass that Harvard could intercept.
Mega made Northeastern’s final shot from the edge of the circle, but it was also blocked by the goalkeeper. Harvard defenders spent the last minute burning out the clock until Armaganian intercepted and sent the ball down the field with an aerial — but a Harvard defender intercepted and the clock ran out, leaving the score at 2-0.
“I think we’re better than that. I think we can beat them,” Mega said. “Harvard is obviously a great team. We can definitely play with them, and we’re also one of the best teams in the country. I seriously think that it’s going to be a great year.”
Northeastern will play at Towson University (4-4, 0-0 CAA) Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. for its first conference game of the season.
