A Look Into the Harvard Field Hockey Team’s Season

The Harvard women’s field hockey team has opened the season with remarkable momentum, undefeated at 10-0 overall and 3-0 in Ivy League play, winning over nationally ranked opponents such as Princeton (6), University of Connecticut (11), and Stanford (25) with a perfect 1.000 winning percentage.

In an interview with the Harvard Independent, captain Fiene Oerlemans ’26 credited the team’s success to its consistency and resilience. “It’s always hard being an Ivy League team because we don’t get as much preparation before the season starts as some of our opponents,” she said.

“Being undefeated and beating four ranked opponents so far just shows how much discipline and resilience this group has,” she added.

“It’s not about talent; it’s just about our consistency,” Oerlemans said. “We have so much depth on our team and on our bench, which has been a huge part of our success… Someone can have an off day, and someone else will pick up their slack.”

“Our coach has done a really good job of recruiting,” captain Kitty Chapple ’26 said. “We’re playing really nice, gelled hockey.”

Despite the graduation of nine senior team members last spring and the induction of seven first-years, the adjustment has been seamless, according to the team’s leadership. “It’s a completely new team,” Oerlemans said. “We all gelled very quickly… We all became super close and felt like we’ve been playing together for years.” The captains credit the team’s culture for that smooth transition. “It doesn’t feel like there’s a hierarchy between grades,” she continued. “Every grade is kind of just best friends. So I think that also makes it easy for freshmen to come into.”

Both captains repeatedly used the world “gelled,” perfectly capturing the core of Harvard field hockey’s success this season. “We genuinely love playing with each other and I think that really shows on the field,” Oerlemans said, emphasizing how trust and camaraderie are valued by the team.

For Oerlemans, who began her Harvard career on the bench, leadership this season carries a personal meaning. “I know what it’s like to be there and sometimes it can be hard,” she said. “No one thinks selfishly about their playing time, which has been great. I think that the team wouldn’t be able to perform as well on the field if we didn’t have that support coming from the side.”

That team-first mindset has enabled the team to persevere through some of the most challenging matchups. On Sept. 26, Harvard defeated Princeton 3-1, one of their biggest rivalries and a victory that both Oerlemans and Chapple described as a defining moment of the season. “It’s always a really fun game to play—great competition,” Chapple said. “We executed our plan really well as a team and were really clinical on the chances we got.”

The Harvard women’s field hockey team currently holds the top spot in the Ivy League and ranks fourth nationally in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index.

Despite the winning streak, the captains insist on keeping perspective. “We shouldn’t get too caught up in rankings,” Oerlemans said. The “one-game-at-a-time” mentality has become a cornerstone of the field hockey team’s preparation. After each match, the team holds a reflection session to assess what worked and what needs improvement.

“Every game, there are areas you can get better,” Chapple said. “It’s important to recognize that so you can grow.”

Still, the captains acknowledge the pressure that comes with the success. “All the titles and being undefeated put a target on our back,” Oerlemans said. “But if we trust what we can do, believe in each other, and keep taking it game by game, we will be flying forward.”

“The locker room before games is a party, always… We do a great job of channeling high energy in the locker room to the fields,” Oerlemans laughed. “Everyone loves to dance and sing… We sing ‘Shots’ before every game… It’s a great song and we have fun.”

As the field hockey team prepares for upcoming games against Cornell on Oct. 11 and Brown on Oct. 17, both captains hope to see more fans in the stands. “It’s always more exciting when you’re at home and your friends are watching,” Oerlemans said. “We’ve been doing so good, and I feel like with that support from Harvard and the students we could just make game days even more fun and exciting.”

Chapple agreed: “Any support on the sidelines really means a lot to us.”

“We’re proud of what we’ve done so far,” Oerlemans said. “But the next game is always the most important one.”

Katherine Chung ’29 (katherinechung@college.harvard.edu) writes Sports for the Independent.