Reilly Stops Penalty Kick to Preserve W. Booters' 1-0 Blanking of Princeton

PRINCETON, N.J.--Robin Hood robbed from the Tigers and gave to the Crimson as the Harvard women's soccer team beat Princeton here at Laurie-Love Field Saturday, 1-0.

Harvard junior forward Robin Johnston did all the taking, tallying the contest's only score. And Crimson goalkeeper Beth Reilly went on to record her fourth shutout of the season, including a diving denial of a Princeton penalty kick.

Harvard came out fired up at the start, pushing the ball up field and putting pressure on Tigers netminder Andrea Deyrup. The Crimson unloaded seven shots on goal in the first half.

Fourteen minutes into the game, Deyrup attempted to clear the ball out of the Princeton zone. Like a fox, Johnston intercepted the ball and dribbled around the goalie for the game-winning shot.

Harvard's aggressive play dominated the remainder of the period. With the ball up front for the duration, Reilly was forced to make only two saves in the half. But she made them count.

As the clock wound down on the first half, Princeton began to gain some offensive momentum. With just over four minutes remaining, the referee awarded Princeton back Betsy White a penalty kick on a very dubious pushing penalty inside the box. Both squads looked on as White booted the ball towards the lower-left corner of the cage. Anticipating the shot, Reilly dove to her right and slapped the ball wide of the net.

"I decided to take one to my left so that she would think that there was more room so she would go to my right," Reilly said. "A shot like that can really swing the momentum and when you make a save, it can really pick up the team."

When the Crimson came out for the second period, it left the offense in the huddle. Harvard got two quick shots on net in the first three minutes of the second half before settling into a defensive mode.

"We had many opportunities early, and we didn't capitalize. Princeton settled down and dominated the second half in terms of possession," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said. "But we kept our composure. It was a nice win."

The Harvard defenders had their work cut out for them. The Tigers bombarded Reilly with seven shots on goal in the second period and kept the ball in the Crimson zone the majority of the time.

Reilly did her best Mitch Gaylord immitation--making saves only a gymnast could get to. With nearly 17 minutes remaining, Princeton forced the keeper to dive for the save. The Tigers picked up the rebound, and Reilly had to jump to deflect that.

"Beth played great," defender Tara Weinstock said. "I totally knew she was going to save [that penalty shot.]"

Harvard didn't leave it completely up to its goalie. The whole squad was diving to break up plays.

"Give Harvard credit. They put it in the net and we didn't," Princeton Coach April Heinrichs said. "We had our chances but their defense was good."

NOTEBOOK: Harvard has its final home game Tuesday against those hateful Elis of Yale.

Crimson, 1-0 in Princeton, N.J. HARVARD  1-0--1 Princeton  0-0--0

Goals: H, Robin Johnston (unassisted), 14:07.

Saves: H, Beth Reilly 7; P, Andrea Deyrup 7.

Corner Kicks: Harvard 7; Princeton 6.

Shots: Harvard 10; Princeton 10.