W. Soccer Clips Eagles' Wings

After an afternoon of flying with the Eagles, the Crimson continues to soar.

Yesterday afternoon the No. 17 Harvard women's soccer team (8-1-1, 4-0 Ivy) overcame a sloppy start before exploding for a 4-0 victory over a tough Boston College (8-5) team at Newton Campus Soccer Field.

"It was definitely a great win for us," co-captain Jess Larson said. "B.C. is a really strong and athletic team."

The win marked the second consecutive rout for the Crimson--Harvard defeated Cornell 5-0 on Saturday--and its fourth win in a row.

Freshman forward Joey Yenne put Harvard on the board first, with two Crimson senior midfielders teaming up to set up the score.

Julia Blain took control at midfield and lofted a pass down the sideline for Ashley Berman. Berman sprinted up the field, chased down the ball and booted a nice cross for a waiting Yenne who put the ball in the back of the net.

"Blain played an awesome ball down the sideline and Berman just worked her butt off to get to it," Larson said.

"Berman just ran down the ball and squared the ball back to me from 12 yards," Yenne said. "I just took it and hit it in, one-time."

Yenne's score would be all Harvard would need on the day, as the Crimson defense was sensational once again. Led by Larson and freshman goaltender Cheryl Gunther, Harvard notched its third consecutive shutout and fourth on the year.

Larson continues to show the form that has made her an All-Ivy choice at sweeper in each of her first three seasons. The opposition has found it nearly impossible to get past the Crimson's last line of defense.

Gunther, meanwhile, is enjoying an incredible rookie campaign. She leads the Ivy League with an amazing 0.44 goals-against average. Gunther's .902 save percentage is also tops in the league.

Although the Crimson notched the easy win, things did not look good early on.

Harvard came out of the box looking very shaky. Players missed passes and the Eagles seemed to beat the Crimson to every ball.

"[B.C.] is really strong in the air, and they seem to win every 50-50 ball," Larson said. "So we really worked on getting first to the ball and also winning the second balls. But early on we did just the opposite. We played very poorly and sat back on our heels."

Yenne's goal, however, provided a wake-up call for the Crimson, as it began to run on all cylinders.

Harvard went into halftime up only the one goal, but came out of the intermission sharp and focused to put some points on the board.

In the 63rd minute, freshman forward Beth Totman--who has been a spectacular playmaker all season--lit up the scoreboard for the Crimson.

Yenne took possession near midfield and dribbled the ball up through the center of the Eagle defense. She then dished off to Totman who drilled a strong shot into the far-side netting, giving Harvard a 2-0 lead.

The Crimson was not done scoring just yet, though, as the strong Harvard bench came through for the second consecutive game.

As has been the strategy for most of the season, Coach Tim Wheaton replaced the first-string forward line of co-captain Beth Zotter, Totman and Yenne with junior forward Ashley Mattison and sophomore forwards Colleen Moore and Caitlin Costello.

In the 78th minute, Mattison and Moore--who set up a score for Harvard against Cornell--teamed up for the Crimson's third goal of the day. Mattison took a pass from Moore, knocking it past the Eagle goaltender for the score. Berman also assisted on the play, her second on the day.

Then, seven minutes later, the fresh forward line struck again. Moore dished off a pass to Costello, who netted Harvard's fourth and final goal of the afternoon. Freshman forward Caitlin Butler also was credited with an assist.

"Every game we've brought in a second set of three forwards, and they've just been incredible," Larson said. "[Moore, Mattison and Costello] have battled every game and have been outstanding. They have really worked their butts off."

With the win, Harvard increased its unbeaten streak to seven games and, more importantly, showed the ability to step up under pressure.

"We are really excited that we won, especially since we started out playing so poorly," Larson said. "The most important thing about this game was that we were able to pull ourselves out of our bad play. It shows a lot of character."

With its incredible defensive play and its offense beginning to roll, Harvard's confidence is extremely high. The Crimson is aware, however, that much of the season still remains, and many difficult opponents lie ahead.

"We are excited, but we still have a long way to go," Larson said. "There are still a lot of teams still left in our region that we have to play, like UConn and B.U., and we still have some important Ivy games."

Before facing these foes, however, Harvard flies to beautiful, sunny Miami, Fla. There the Crimson will take on the University of Miami and Butler, two young but tough teams.

"UM and Butler are both solid, but very young," Larson said. "We are confident that we can do well, and are pumped to Florida."