CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 11 Harvard field hockey begins its Ivy League Tournament title defense this weekend in Princeton, New Jersey, as the No. 2 seed Crimson will face No. 3 seed Brown in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 8 at approximately 2:30 p.m. ESPN+ is the broadcasting home for all 2024 Ivy League Tournament matches.

CRIMSON UPDATE:

• Harvard ended the regular season with a 13-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in conference action, as the Crimson held steady for a third straight week at the No. 11 spot in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll.
• The Crimson climbed two spots in the NCAA RPI Rankings, as it now owns the No. 8 spot.
• Last weekend saw Harvard end the regular season on a high note, as the Crimson shut out Cornell at home, 4-0.
• After a scoreless second half that saw Harvard limit the hosts to zero shots, sophomore forward Sage Piekarski netted the first two goals of the contest in the third and fourth quarters, as first-year forward Martha le Huray and junior midfielder Fiene Oerlemans added more goals in the final six minutes.
• In just 30 minutes of action, junior goalkeeper Tessa Shahbo shined between the posts, preserving Harvard's shutout with six saves.
• Harvard owns one of the best attacks in the nation this season, ranking eighth in the nation in goals per game (3.07) and 10^th in scoring average (2.95). The Crimson also lead the Ivy League in both categories.
• In contests away from Berylson Field, the Crimson is excelling, owning an 8-1 record in road matches. That is the best road winning percentage in the Ivy League as Harvard's lone road loss was a 3-2 defeat against Northwestern in October.
• During the 2024 regular season, Harvard faced some of the top sides in the nation, as it owns four wins against teams in the NCAA RPI Top-25 (No.21 Wake Forest, No. 14 UMass, No. 9 Saint Joseph's, No. 7 UConn).
• For the first time since 2019, Harvard leads the Ivy League in scoring after the conclusion of the regular season, as the Crimson's high-flying attack has 49 goals this season. The Crimson also own the league's best goal difference (+29).
• Head coach Tjerk van Herwaarden is in his 12^th season at the helm of the Harvard field hockey program, as the four-time Ivy League Coach of the Year owns a 144-56 record.

SCOUTING THE BEARS:

• Brown enters the 2024 Ivy League Tournament with a 9-7 record, holding the No. 3 seed with a 4-3 mark in conference play.
• The Bears clinched its first ever berth to the Ivy League Tournament last weekend, orchestrating a fourth quarter comeback to defeat Penn, 4-3.
• Led by All-Ivy League First Team selection Mia Karine Myklebust, Brown is second in the Ivy League in scoring with 42 goals.
• Britt Broady is in her third season as the Bears head coach, as she holds a 23-26 in her time in Providence.

SERIES HISTORY:

• The Ivy League Tournament Semifinal represents the 50^th all-time meeting and second meeting this season between Harvard and Brown on the field hockey pitch.
• The Crimson own the series lead against the Bears, 30-13-6, which includes a nine-match winning streak.
• Back in September, the Harvard cruised to a 4-0 shutout win against Brown on the road, as four different Crimson found the back of the net.

IVY TOURNAMENT FLASHBACK:

• The Crimson enter the second ever Ivy League Field Hockey Tournament as the defending champion, winning the inaugural Ivy League Field Hockey Tournament on home soil last season.
• After defeating Penn in the semifinal, 1-0, a last second winner against Princeton in the final allowed the Crimson to lift the hardware.
• Sophomore midfielder Lara Beekhuis won Most Outstanding Player honors last season after scoring both of the Crimson's match winners at the 2023 Ivy League Tournament.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS:

• Dating back to the 2016 season, the Crimson is maintaining an 84 game winning-streak against unranked opponents.
• The last loss against an unranked foe arrived on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, a 3-1 loss against intrastate for UMass.

DYNAMIC DUO:

• Beekhuis and Piekarski are an exciting duo for the Crimson on the attacking end, as the classmates are tied for the team leads in goals (9) and points (20) this season.
• A native of Laren, Netherlands, Beekhuis earned All-Ivy League First Team honors for the first time in her collegiate career, while Piekarski garnered second team All-Ivy League honors this season.
• Piekarski is the only Crimson to win a weekly Ivy League award multiple times this season, earning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week twice.

WE LOVE LUCY:

• In her final collegiate campaign, senior forward Lucy Leel is orchestrating one of the best seasons of her Crimson tenure.
• A native of London, England, Leel set new career-highs in goals (7) and points (14) this season.
• In the Ivy League, she is tied for sixth in goals and is tied for tenth in points.

CRIMSON CAPTAINS:

• Seniors Emily Guckian and Sofia Castore are the Crimson team captains this season.
• A two-time NFHCA All-American and two-time team captain, Guckian has five goals, one assists and 11 points this season, bringing her career point tally to 64, two points away from matching Kathleen Young '19 and Elizabeth Jacobsen '16 for 10^th all-time in program history.
• Castore has 12 career appearances between the posts, as she started in goal for Harvard in the season finale against Cornell.

A GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY:

• On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Harvard field hockey community gathered to celebrate the program's 50^th anniversary.
• Harvard owns a storied legacy on the field hockey pitch, winning seven Ivy League regular season titles, the 2023 Ivy League Tournament Championship, as the Crimson advanced to its first NCAA Tournament Semifinals in 2021.

UP NEXT:

If the Crimson earn a win against Brown on Friday, Nov. 8, it will advance to the Ivy League Tournament Championship on Sunday, Nov. 10, as the contest will air live on ESPN+ at noon.

For all the latest on Harvard Field Hockey, follow the Crimson on Twitter (@HarvardFH)and Instagram (@harvardfieldhockey).