The No. 14 Massachusetts field hockey team’s season stayed alive with its 1-0 win over the No. 10 Harvard Crimson. UMass (17-5, 7-0 Atlantic 10) will now head to the Final Four for the first time since 1992 to fight for a NCAA title.
It was Claire Danahy who played the hero for the Minutewomen, netting the only goal of the game in the third quarter. As the graduate student made her way into the circle, she turned her back and slapped the ball towards Harvard (16-4, 6-1 Ivy League) goalkeeper Tessa Shahbo. The ball changed directions, tripping up the goalkeeper and going into the back of the net for a 1-0 UMass lead.
Danahy’s goal came shortly after the Crimson netted a goal that was waved off by the officials. A Harvard player shot the ball outside of the circle and looked to have been deflected in front of goalkeeper Myrte van Herwijnen. After further review, no one touched the ball in the circle, leaving the goal to be overturned.
Headed into the fourth quarter, Harvard started to play with more urgency, playing a chippy game for the final 15 minutes. Bronte-May Brough was handed a green card after tripping up Danahy. The card set the tone for the rest of the quarter as both the Crimson and Minutewomen played a more physical game.
With just over five minutes left in the contest, Harvard pulled its goalkeeper to earn a player advantage. Despite the extra attacker, the Minutewomen’s defense covered up any offensive opportunities for the Crimson, not allowing them to get a shot on van Herwijnen.
UMass made a run down the field with less than a minute left and held onto the ball to cement its 1-0 victory.
While van Herwijnen wasn’t consistently challenged during the contest, she made big saves for the Minutewomen. Harvard took three shots on the junior goalkeeper with her biggest save coming on a penalty corner in the third quarter. Brough sent a hard sweep shot to the goalkeeper, who made a big kick save to eliminate the chance.
In the first quarter, the Minutewomen capitalized on the offensive opportunities they were given. Specifically, UMass’ offense was generated by its five penalty corner opportunities in the first 15 minutes.
Just over a minute in, Hannah de Gast drew the first two penalty corners of the game. Dempsey Campbell was given the best scoring opportunity after she sent a hard backhander to Shahbo, but it was quickly blocked away.
Through 60 minutes, the Minutewomen totaled six penalty corners compared to the Crimson’s two. In those opportunities, UMass fired six shots at Shahbo, who stood tall in net for the Crimson up until Danahy’s goal.
The Minutewomen defense was a large factor in the win, especially in the first half of the game. They rarely allowed the Crimson’s offense to get close to their net. Both teams struggled to generate offense in the second quarter, as Harvard did not register a single shot in the quarter.
After the Minutewomen lost to both UConn and Harvard in the regular season, they now have upset both teams when it mattered most, in the NCAA Tournament for the right to advance to the Final Four.
UMass will now have a four-day break before traveling to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on No. 2 Northwestern in the semifinals. The matchup is set for Friday, Nov. 22 at a time TBD.
Kayla Gregoire can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Kaygregoire.
