Crimson Completes Golden Sweep in the Golden State

The Harvard women's soccer team's weekend road trip to California could not have come at a better time.

The Crimson put itself as far away as possible--both mentally and physically--from the previous weekend's disastrous loss at Brown. By the time Harvard returned on the red-eye flight early Monday morning, the once bedraggled Crimson had made great strides in turning its season around.

"This trip was a real confidence booster," sophomore goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther said. "I definitely feel a lot better. These games were good for us."

As injuries have plagued last year's key offensive players, Harvard has desperately needed someone to step up and put the ball in the net. This weekend, the Crimson (4-2, 1-1 Ivy) received the breakthrough performance it needed from freshmen midfielders Caitlin Fisher and Katie Westfall.

Fisher scored both Harvard goals in a 2-1 win at regionally-touted Loyola Marymount (6-3-1), and Westfall notched the game-winner two minutes into overtime in a 1-0 victory over San Diego State (3-9-0).

Westfall's golden goal sent the Crimson players home with a sweep in the Golden State and substantial momentum for Wednesday's battle of revenge against Boston College.

Harvard 1, San Diego State 0 (OT)

Throughout Harvard's first five games, Westfall had been among the Crimson's best in ball control, yet she had never quite found the way to finish in a key situation.

It was only a matter of time.

After 90 minutes of deadlocked soccer, Westfall finally sent everyone home at 2:10 in overtime. Gaining control of a cross from sophomore forward Joey Yenne, she beat Aztec goalkeeper Linnea Quiones with a shot from 18 yards out.

It was Westfall's second goal of the season, her other being among the Crimson's seven in a rout over Vermont.

Westfall also came closer to scoring than any other Harvard player during regulation. In the first half, she took a shot off of a corner kick that went past Quiones and would have reached the net had Aztec midfielder Elicia Petre not cleared the ball off of the goal line.

"They had one good scoring chance all day and we had maybe four," Gunther said. "We definitely dominated the game."

One of the Aztec's best scoring chances came right before halftime. Aztec forward Kim Rogers broke free inside the box and found herself one-on-one with Gunther. But Rogers sent the ball over the crossbar.

On the day, Gunther made four saves to earn her first shutout of the season--already the ninth of her career.

Harvard 2, Loyola Marymount 1

Having not tallied a goal all season before the road trip, Fisher would at first glance appear to be an unlikely candidate to strike twice and account for the entire Crimson offense on the day.

But she had proven herself to be a playmaker in earlier action, and came as close to scoring as any Crimson player in the game against Brown. Fisher was bound to become an impact player at some point--the only question was when.

Fisher's first career goal finally came 17 minutes into the first half. Junior forward Colleen Moore set up the scoring chance by sending the ball to Fisher just outside the left side of the box, Fisher delivered a hard shot across to the right, past the diving Lion keeper. Westfall earned the other assist on the goal.

With all the injuries the team has suffered as of late, Fisher's early strike was a badly needed lift. The latest causality had been sophomore midfielder Orly Ripmaster, who missed the game because of a concussion sustained in practice.

"It's definitely been harder on us, since our leading scorer from last year, Beth Totman, has been out," Fisher said. "We especially had trouble finishing in this game."

Loyola Marymount came back and tied the game in the 41st minute when Lion forward Kerri Tanksley won the ball in the air and deflected a header off a Crimson defender and into the net.

But the Crimson would rebound and control the game from then on. After a relatively even first half, Harvard outshot the Lions 7-3 in the second.

In the 60th minute, Fisher struck again. With a free kick outside of the 18, senior midfielder Meredith Stewart set up Fisher in front of the net. Fisher headed the ball off the inside part of the left post for the eventual game-winner.

Loyola Marymount came close to tying the game in the 78th minute, when Lion forward Jill Dobens gained control off a loose ball in the right corner, and launched a cross to Erica Florez, who fired a shot from point-blank range. But Gunther held strong in net and preserved the Crimson lead.

Upcoming Action

Coming off of the West Coast sweep, Harvard will be back in action at Ohiri tomorrow afternoon against No. 23 Boston College (9-3). The Eagles stunned the Crimson 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season and ended Harvard's 13-game unbeaten streak, which had included a 4-0 win at Boston College.

"We have a grudge, definitely," Gunther said.

Gone now is Eagle forward Mary Guarino, who scored the goal that proved to be fatal, but Boston College had the northeast region's most highly touted recruiting class, and the Eagles have proven to be tough to score upon. They held tight with No. 17 UConn in a 1-0 loss at Storrs on Friday, despite being outshot 18-4.

"It's obviously a huge game," Fisher said. "We need to win, and we should win."

With matchups against Cornell and Davidson this weekend at the Harvard Invitational, the Crimson will play three games in five days, its busiest stretch of the season thus far. But Harvard should be well prepared, as a sweep on the West Coast has renewed the Crimson confidence.