Penn field hockey gets past Harvard for first Ivy win, 4-1

For Penn field hockey, it isn’t all about winning pretty.

The Red and Blue played a Saturday matinee against Harvard at Ellen Vagelos Field and took down the Crimson for Penn’s first Ivy victory, 4-1.

It was the senior class leading the way for the Quakers (4-3, 1-1 Ivy) this weekend, as midfielder Alex Iqbal provided a hat trick while Emily Corcoran added a goal on attack along with an assist on each of Iqbal’s goals.

Senior defender MaryRose Croddick also assisted on each of Iqbal’s goals, while senior goalkeeper Allison Weisenfels held the Crimson (5-2, 1-1) on the back end, making five saves.

The Red and Blue began the match well, with Iqbal scoring off a penalty corner in the 11th minute.

The Crimson tied the score 16 minutes later, but Corcoran would beat Harvard goalkeeper Issy Davies just before the end of the first half to put Penn in front for good. Corcoran, one of the squad’s senior captains, is now second in the Ancient Eight in goals with eight and is first in the conference with 19 points.

In the second half, the Quakers were able to once again convert on a penalty corner, something that had mostly eluded them earlier in the season. After a timeout from the Crimson, the Red and Blue came out firing.

“We’ve been working on those corners a lot,” coach Colleen Fink said. “We came out of the Harvard timeout ready to go and scored on those two corners.”

The ball went from Croddick to Corcoran to Iqbal, who finished off two consecutive goals in less than one minute, displaying Penn’s newfound prowess on the set play.

Iqbal now has four goals on the year and is third on the Quakers with 11 points after she added three points last season.

Meanwhile, Weisenfels now has 32 saves on the year, allowing fewer than two goals per game.

While the team didn’t think the win was its most comprehensive on the year, it certainly fit in well with the team’s mantra of ‘true grit.’

“It was a really good game but was also boring at times,” Fink said. “I kept telling the girls sometimes a win isn’t pretty.”

The Quakers have a matchup with Dartmouth awaiting them next weekend in Hanover. The Big Green are also in the middle of the Ivy pack with a 1-1 record, losing to nationally ranked Princeton before defeating Brown.

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