CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 16 Old Dominion field hockey fell to No. 3 Harvard, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon.
That was a tough way to end a great season,” Head Coach Andrew Griffiths said. “This one stings because I felt we could have gone on a longer postseason run. In the end, I am extremely proud of the team, and the players on the team who deserve credit for all the hard work and commitment they have given to each other. Harvard has a bunch of super talented players and they play a predictable style, so we had a good chance. “Unfortunately, we didn't play our sharpest in the first half, and went down a goal.”
One shot from Harvard’s (16-2) Lara Beekhui highlighted the first quarter, though two minutes into the second quarter the Crimson were awarded a corner and scored, courtesy of a goal from Emily Bronckers. Old Dominion (15-5) was able to fend off two more Harvard goals until halftime came, with the Monarchs trailing 1-0.
ODU earned its first corner of the day 54 seconds into the third quarter, and while the Monarchs earned a second one right after a blocked shot attempt, ODU was unable to score. In the fourth quarter, Harvard grabbed another goal off a penalty corner, this time coming from Beekhui, with 12 minutes left. Old Dominion pulled goalkeeper Suus Broers with under five minutes remaining of play, though Crimson Sage Piekarski scored on the empty goal as under two minutes were left in the game. Despite Broers being put into the goal once more, Piekarski scored again, securing a 4-0 victory for Harvard.
Harvard outshot ODU, 14-4 and earned five corners to Old Dominion’s three.
Serena Langendoen had a team-high two shots with Josie Painter and Anna Riesser collecting one each. Langendoen also had the Monarch’s lone shot on goal.
Broers recorded three saves on three goals allowed.
“We came out stronger at the start of the second half and created some chances,” Griffiths added. “But the story of the game in the end was decided by corners. They executed and scored the first two goals on corners, and we didn’t have our best execution when we had our chances. And so we ended up chasing the game a bit and they scored insurance goals after we pulled the goalkeeper. It hurts right now - but when the dust settles it will be easier to have perspective, to celebrate the season’s achievements.”