Women's Soccer Fights to 1-1 Tie with No. 13 Hartford

After an impressive road win against Yale over the weekend, the surging Harvard women's soccer team tied No. 13 Hartford 1-1 yesterday afternoon at Ohiri Field, extending its current unbeaten streak to three games.

The Crimson (4-1-1, 2-0 Ivy) had all the motivation it needed with the memory of two losses to the Hawks (5-1-2) last year still fresh, including a 3-0 second round playoff defeat at Hartford.

Add to that a hunger for a solid showing against a strong opponent and the Crimson was anxious to play.

"We were curious to see if we could do it," senior midfielder Ashley Berman said. "We hadn't played a challenging team all year and hadn't really been tested."

Harvard wasted little time in getting off to a fast start. Combining excellent ball control and a quick-strike offensive strategy, the team was able to create many scoring opportunities in the first half. Freshman forward and Ivy League Rookie of the Week Joey Yenne was stopped on three separate occasions by senior Hartford goalie Ingrid Strenhoff.

Junior midfielder Meredith Stewart was within inches of giving the Crimson a 1-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the half, when an apparent hand ball by a Hawk defender deflected it out of the box. The violation, which would have resulted in a penalty kick, was not called by the referee.

The Hawks almost capitalized on their luck. With the first half winding down, a throw-in by a Hawk midfielder was just barely cleared as it slowly rolled past the goalie and across the mouth of the goal.

Regrouping at halftime, the Crimson immediately went on the attack to open the half. Yenne gained possession of the ball deep in Hawk territory and quickly spotted freshman forward Beth Totman.

With Sternhoff charging the open lane to cut the angle off, Totman decided to go over the goalkeeper instead of around her. Sternhoff partially deflected the ball, but it still found its way into the net after flying over her, giving the Crimson a 1-0 edge.

"I saw Joey with a clear lane," Totman said. "I just kept running through and was surprised at how open I was. I tried to play it over the goalkeeper."

The excitement on the Harvard side was quick-lived. Just four minutes after Totman's score, Hartford senior midfielder Sandra Doreleijers used teammate Sonja Fuss' cross to put the ball past Harvard freshman goalie Cheryl Gunther for the equalizer.

A similar situation happened to the women's team against Colombia 11 days ago. Minutes after scoring its second goal of the match, Colombia struck back in just 30 seconds.

"That's one of the functions of being young," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said. "We talk about those type of moments before the game. It's unfortunate though. You don't want to give up a goal like that."

As the end of regulation neared, the emotions on both sides began to pick up. Two Hartford players were given yellow cards in a span of fifteen minutes, and even the head coaches began to argue with one another on the sidelines.

One of the yellow cards was given after Yenne was knocked down in the goal box while attempting to redirect a teammate's shot. Although the goalie had possession of the ball before the infraction happened, the Harvard squad argued that if a yellow card was given, then there was a foul on the play. A foul would have led to a penalty kick that could have sealed the game for the Crimson.

The referee decided otherwise and play resumed. Senior midfielder Ashley Berman, who anchored the Crimson defense along with classmate Jessica Larson, consistently left Hawk players in her dust with a variety of juke and spin moves and helped the Crimson move the ball out of its own territory.

The last twenty minutes of regulation were characterized by a wide-open style of play. Both the Crimson and Hawks had breakaway opportunities, but neither of them were able to convert.

In the two overtime sessions, neither team was able to muster a consistent offensive attack. The best opportunity for Hartford came in the second overtime when a Doreleijers header off a free kick skimmed the top post.

The Crimson staved off other offensive strikes and preserved a hard-earned 1-1 tie.

"We wanted to come out and prove to ourselves what we knew in our hearts," Coach Wheaton said. "And I think we did. We feel like we're a top 15 team. I'm very proud that we can come out and play a No. 13 team in the country and feel like we missed an opportunity to win."

Harvard hopes to use its momentum as it hosts the Harvard Invitational this weekend. Harvard will play Penn (3-1-1, 2-0 Ivy) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and BYU at 3 p.m. Monday.