Even after a four-day weekend, the Red field hockey team could still use another break. This past weekend, the Red fell to Harvard, 5-0, on Saturday and 3-0 to Providence on Sunday.
“There’s a huge sense of urgency,” said senior co-captain Gina Testa. “We have yet to play a complete game — in some games we’ve played well in the first half and other games we’ve played well in the second half. We still have not put it all together.”
At Harvard, the Red fell behind early. In the seventh minute of play, Harvard senior Shelley Maasdorp blasted a penalty corner into the back of the net. The goal was Maasdorp’s Ivy League-leading ninth. The Red held the Crimson scoreless for the remainder of the half and had several chances to tie the game but could not break through. The half ended with a 1-0 Harvard advantage.
The Crimson went to work quickly following halftime. In the opening minutes of the half, the Crimson marched deep into the Red zone. Sophomore Gretchen Fuller capitalized on the early scoring opportunity, corralling a rebound in front of the net and scoring her sixth goal of the season. Once again, the Red buckled down, keeping Harvard off the scoreboard for nearly 17 minutes. The Red, however, was unable get back into the game.
The floodgates for the Crimson opened up with 17 minutes to play. Junior Laura Werner fired a free hit into the net. Later, in the 66th minute, junior Beth Sackovich pushed in her own rebound, giving Harvard a 4-0 lead. The Crimson scoring was capped off by junior Jen McDavitt less than a minute later. McDavitt broke through the middle of the Red defense and rolled a shot between the legs of Lori Blutinger.
Sunday may have been a different day and a different team, but the Red recorded the same result. Due to repairs to the Providence field, the Red and the Friars squared off at a neutral location — Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. Once again, the Red gave up an early goal.
In the 10th minute of play, senior Amy Phillips took a pass from sophomore Melissa McGow and put it in the back of the net. The goal was Phillips’ team-leading and career-best eighth.
McGow doubled the Friar lead with less than 12 minutes to play in the half with a blast from the top of the circle. The Red only mustered three shots in the first half and went into the halftime down 2-0.
The Red refused to give up. Working hard, Cornell earned seven penalty corners and had a total of seven shots in the second half but could not find the back of the net and pull closer to Providence. With about 11 minutes to play, the Friars ended any Red hopes of a comeback.
McGow set up fellow sophomore Lauren Sickel, who fired a penalty corner shot into the back of the cage. The assist was McGow’s fourth point of the game.
The weekend was not a total loss for the Red, however.
“We had a good first half against Harvard,” Testa said. “We went into half down 1-0 to a very good team. We also played a good second half against Providence.”
The Red offense has scored one goal in the past four games and the team finds the drought somewhat mysterious.
“We’ve had opportunities to score,” Testa said. “But we haven’t been able to finish. I’m not sure why.”
Archived article by Olivia Dwyer
Sun Staff Writer