No. 12 Minutewomen Score Three Unanswered for 3-1 Win at No. 3 Harvard

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UMass	0	0	2	1	3
Harvard	1	0	0	0	1

UMass

Harvard

CAMBRIDGE Mass. – The 12th ranked University of Massachusetts field hockey team scored three goals over the game's final 21:18 to turn a 1-0 deficit into a huge 3-1 win over No. 3 Harvard on Friday afternoon. Amber Fairon evened the score at the 38:42 mark before Jenna Herbster scored her first-career goal exactly two minutes later, then Neva Eisenga added insurance with just over four minutes remaining.

With the win, the Minutewomen improve to 5-0 while Harvard falls to 2-1.

"With our preparation, you could feel the energy with the team during every training session," said head coach Barb Weinberg. "They were going into that game trying to put out their best performance. We knew it was going to be a really, really close game. Proud of what this team was able to do in the second half."

Harvard took a 1-0 lead on its third shot of the game as Lara Beekhuis made a deflection past UMass goalkeeper Rozárie Mrázová at the 7:13 mark.

From that point forward, UMass' defense held the Crimson without a shot for the game's next 23:30. The Minutewomen held a 4-3 edge in shots at the half.

UMass turned that momentum into the tying goal midway through the third quarter. At the 38:42 mark, Fairon rocketed a direct shot off a penalty corner, assisted by Fiene Jenniskens and Megan Carpenter.

Just two minutes later, the Minutewomen defended a Harvard penalty corner, leading directly into a transition opportunity as Niamh McKenzie made a great centering feed to Herbster, who finished at 40:42.

The game-winning goal from today's 3-1 win at #3 Harvard was ??

The defense at one end ??
The pass by Niamh McKenzie ??
The finish by Jenna Herbster ?#Flagship ?? | #SCTop10 | @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/teJmoBWJHX
— UMass Field Hockey (@UMassFH) September 12, 2026

UMass added insurance at 55:36, as Eisenga finished off a penalty corner for a 3-1 advantage, which proved to be the final. Harvard held a 6-4 edge in fourth-quarter shots, but only five were on goal. Mrázová made one save, giving her two for the game.

Final shots were 11-10 in favor of Harvard, but the Minuewomen held a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. Through five games, UMass has still allowed just 18 shots on goal, allowing just five goals.

"Our defense has been holding it down," said Weinberg. "We have a really experienced backfield and with the addition of Chiara Curcio, we have a lot of experience and depth on our defense. They played fantastic today. Harvard has a great attack, and we were able to win that battle in our deep defense today."

Harvard held a 10-5 edge in penalty corners, with the Minutewomen blocking a number of Crimson corner opportunities.

UMass returns to action on Sunday, hosting at New Hampshire at 1 p.m. It's a Dream Crazy for Greta Game.

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