ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A storybook season continues for No. 12 Harvard field hockey (16-1, 7-0 Ivy League) at the 2021 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament, as the Ivy League champions take on regional host No. 2 Michigan (16-4, 5-3 Big Ten) in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 3:00 p.m..
Harvard is making its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament after winning its sixth Ivy League title (1990, 1991, 2004, 2016, 2018, 2021) with a perfect season in conference play. Harvard has previously played for a national championship in 1991, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2016 and 2018.
This will be the third ever meeting in field hockey between Harvard and Michigan. The Wolverines won both previous meetings in 2001 and 2009.
How to Follow
Broadcast:
vs. Michigan (BTN+)
Live Stats:
vs. Michigan
Twitter:
@HarvardFH
Notes:
Harvard
What to Know
· Harvard advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second time in school history with its 1-0 (OT) win over No. 6 Louisville on Friday. The win was Harvard's second in program history over a top-6 opponent.
Sophomore
Avery Donahue's overtime game-winning goal 5:42 into the first overtime lifted the Crimson to the win. Senior captain
Mimi Tarrant recorded her team-leading 10th assist of the year on the play. Harvard has matched its best NCAA Tournament run from 2018 and is also keeping pace with the 2018 team matching its best 17-game start in school history. The Crimson has won 11 games in a row.
· Harvard established itself as one of the top defensive teams in the nation in 2021, leading to several impressive stats:
0.39 Goals Against Average (1st, NCAA)
.860 Save Percentage (1st, NCAA)
10 Shutouts (2nd, NCAA)
.941 Winning Percentage (1st, NCAA)
· Harvard recorded its second-most regular season wins (15) and has the second-most wins of any season in program history. Harvard has won 11 games in a row overall, its second longest winning streak ever.
· Leading Harvard's defensive effort is senior captain
Hannah Pearce, who was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection. Pearce was the pivotal reason for Harvard's standout defensive play this year. She is Harvard's free player and is a critical part of the team's defensive structure, as Harvard allowed just five goals in Ivy League games all season. In addition, she has had a breakout year offensively, recording 13 goals and two assists to lead the team with 28 points.
· Junior goalkeeper
Ellie Shahbo (14-1-0) is also a First Team All-Ivy honoree and had another standout season. Shahbo recorded the No. 1 save percentage (.864) and the No. 1 goals-against average (0.38) for all goalkeepers in Division I field hockey and has nine shutouts on the season.
. In addition to Pearce and Shahbo's All-Ivy honors, first-year midfielder
Emily Guckian, senior captain
Mimi Tarrant (Academic All-Ivy), and senior midfielder/forward
Rachel Greenwood were named Second Team All-Ivy. Sophomore
Avery Donahue and first-year
Megan Joel earned All-Ivy League Honorable Mention.
· Head coach
Tjerk van Herwaarden was named Ivy League Coach of the Year and continues to lead the program to consistent excellence in his 10
th season. Tjerk became the second coach at Harvard to record 100 wins with the team's victory against Brown last Saturday (Nov. 6). Under his leadership, Harvard has a 33-2 record in Ivy League play over the last five seasons.
Scouting Michigan
Michigan is one of the top offensive teams in the country, averaging 3.26 goals per contest (7th, NCAA) entering the weekend. Leading the way for the Wolverines up front is senior midfielder Sofia Southam, who entered the weekend second in the nation in scoring and added two goals in Michigan's first round win over Miami (OH) for 23 goals on the year.
The Wolverines needed a late fourth-quarter rally to advance past Miami (OH) to the quarterfinal round, as Katie Anderson scored with 1:01 on the clock to tie the game at 2-2, and Southam won it on a penalty corner shot with two seconds remaining
A Second Half Team
Harvard has had several late-game victories in 2021 and in general has been a strong second half team. Harvard outscored teams by a combined score of 30-3 in the second half and overtime this season.
Next Up
Harvard would advance to play the winner of Northwestern/Iowa on Friday (Nov. 19) right back in Ann Arbor at Ocker Field.
