W. Booters Burn Holy Cross

The Harvard women's soccer team is playing like a well-oiled machine.

The Crimson (4-2-1 overall, 2-1-0 Ivy) cruised past Holy Cross, 3-0, at Ohiri Field on Tuesday.

The story of this game was the Crimson's absolute domination of the hapless Crusaders.

"I think this was the first time we've played 90 minutes of hard soccer with no lapses," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said.

The Crusaders avoided a much worse fate only because of missed opportunities by the Crimson offense.

Holy Cross was unable to break the Crimson's crushing pressure. But Harvard, despite taking 23 shots on goal in the first half, had trouble finding the net.

It was only a question of time, though, before one of those shots struck home.

Co-Captain Robin Johnston broke the jinx with 20 minutes remaining in the first half, when she took a midfield pass from Co-Captain Amy Weinstein and redirected the ball past the Crusaders goalie.

The Crimson squad has been plagued by its inability to convert shots to goals. But yesterday, the goals came in bunches.

"If you can get the shots, the goals will come," Wheaton said.

While the offense bombarded the Crusaders goal, the defense obliterated the Crusaders attack, recording its first shutout of the season.

Sensational play by the defensive unit of Weinstein, junior sweeper of Erin Matias and senior Skyler Vinton blunted every Crusaders drive.

In the second half, when Holy Cross showed signs of life, fierce hustle by Matias saved potential tying goals.

"We're playing the way we want to now," Matias said.

The defensive line was so strong that Crimson goalie Brooke Donahoe had to make only one save in the first half, and seven overall.

The Crimson notched its other two goals in the second half.

Freshman Beth Morgan scored unassisted from 30 yards out when the Crusaders goalie misplayed her high, arcing shot.

The final goal was scored at the 14:34 mark when sophomore midfielder Laura Flynn's cross was tapped in by junior forward Kristy Gaschler for the easy goal.

The strong play of the Crimson bench was also notable.

Not only did Flynn and Gaschler combine for a score, but there was virtually no dropoff in the quality of play as Wheaton substituted his first-stringers.

"The bench almost outscored the starters," Wheaton said. "They certainly had a lot of chances."

The Crimson's depth has become one of the strengths of the team, affording Wheaton the luxury of being able to rest his starters.