Freshman Hannah Pearce and the Crimson take on Holy Cross on Wednesday night. (Mark Manela)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 14 Harvard field hockey (6-2) will carry a four-game winning streak into a mid-week non-conference contest at Holy Cross (5-4) on Wednesday (Sept. 27) at Hart Turf Field in Worcester, Mass.. The No. 14 ranking is the highest ever for Harvard in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll.

Harvard swept games against Yale (W, 2-1 OT) and Lafayette (W, 6-1) last weekend. Against the Leopards, Harvard topped six goals in a game for the second time this season and scored six or more at home for the first time since Sept. 30, 2014 when it recorded a 6-0 win against UMass-Lowell.

The First Line

• Eight different players have recorded a goal for Harvard, with sophomore Bente van Vlijmen leading the team with six goals on the season. Van Vlijmen scored twice in Harvard's 6-1 win over Lafayette on Sunday. Maddie Earle and Kathleen Young are right behind with five goals on the year.
• Harvard is ranked fifth in the nation with an average of 3.50 goals per game. The Crimson is tops in the Ivy League in that category, as well as points per game (9.63), scoring margin (1.88), and winning percentage (.750).
• Freshman Mimi Tarrant leads all Ivy League freshmen with 12 points (four goals, four assists) on the season. Tarrant added two assists in Harvard's 6-1 win over Lafayette on Sunday.
• Senior goalkeeper Olivia Startup (UC Davis, Pacific, Northeastern, Lafayette) and junior goalkeeper Libby Manela (Stanford, UConn, New Hampshire, Yale) have both started in net for the Crimson, with Startup earning four wins in four games, and Manela putting up solid numbers (1.14 GAA – 9^th, NCAA, 17 saves) in net as well.

Scouting Holy Cross
Winners of two in a row, the Crusaders carry momentum into their matchup with Harvard having shutout both Vermont (W, 1-0) and Colgate (W, 4-0). Senior Maureen Connolly leads the Patriot League in scoring with 25 points (10 goals, five assists) and is No. 4 in the nation with an average of 2.78 points/game. Sophomore goalkeeper Marcia LaPlante has started all nine games in net and is fifth in the country with an average of 8.44 saves per game.

The Last Time Out
On Sunday, two goals from Bente van Vlijmen helped carry Harvard to a 6-1 win over Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at Berylson Field. Freshman Mimi Tarrant added two assists and Maddie Earle, Hanna Pearce, Kathleen Young, and Olivia Allin all added goals for the Crimson, which won its fourth game in a row. Goalkeeper Olivia Startup improved to 4-0 in four starts this season, and Harvard outshot Lafayette 19-5 for the game, and held an 8-3 advantage on penalty corners.

Cookson Breaks Assists Record
Senior Ellie Cookson became Harvard's all-time leader with 27 career assists after notching her team-best third assist of the year at Northeastern on Friday night. Cookson broke the previous mark held by Jen Ahn '04, and Ceci Clark '92, who both had 26 career assists.

On The Right Track
Tjerk van Herwaarden has guided the Crimson back onto the national scene since taking over the helm of the program six years ago. In addition to leading Harvard to the Ivy title and NCAA Tournament, the 12 wins in 2016 matched a program record. His 42 wins in the first five years of his career at Harvard is just one shy of the most ever by a Crimson field hockey coach.

Ivy League Network
The Ivy League Network returns for a fifth season as the home for all live streaming and on-demand video content for each of the conference's eight institutions. Broadcast in full HD and featuring a live score bug and play-by-play and color commentary, the Ivy League Network provides fans with unprecedented access to the Ancient Eight.

Multiple subscription options are available to fans, including school-specific and league-wide passes. To learn more about the Ivy League Network or to sign-up today, click here, or download the Ivy League Network app!

What's Next
The Crimson returns home on Saturday to take on Penn at 12 p.m. in a game that will air on the Ivy League Network.