W. Soccer Receives NCAA Bid Despite Stunning Loss to Columbia

Contrary to popular reports, the Harvard women's soccer team is not dead.

As a matter of fact, the Crimson is very much alive and kicking.

Despite falling 2-1 in overtime to Columbia on Saturday and going winless in its last five games of the regular season, Harvard (10-7, 5-2 Ivy) is headed to the women's soccer version of the Big Dance after gaining an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament last night.

The Crimson was one of three Ivy League teams selected for the tournament, along with league co-champions Princeton and Dartmouth.

Harvard is now slated to take on Quinnipiac at Ohiri Field in the first round on Wednesday.

The announcement of the team's bid was a bit of a surprise given its devastating loss to the Lions (5-10-2, 1-6 Ivy) earlier in the weekend.

"We are very surprised coming off this losing streak," co-captain Lauren Corkery said. "On Saturday, we thought our chances were pretty slim."

The Crimson, however, was not undeserving. The committee likely gave heavy consideration to the fact that Harvard played one of the most difficult schedules in the Northeast. Brown--which beat the Crimson this season but did not play opponents anywhere near the level of Harvard's--was excluded from the tournament.

"I thought that losing on Saturday would have made [earning a bid] very difficult," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said. "But if you look at who we played, we had one of the toughest strength of schedules."

"I think we are definitely one of the top 48 teams in the country," he said.

Even more pleasantly surprising for the Crimson than its inclusion in the tournament was the fact that it was given home field for the opening round.

"I couldn't even believe that." Corkery said. "I would have thought that we'd be away if anything. But I think we've proven over the years that we are capable of beating the top teams. We've just had a few bumps this year. A lot of things didn't go our way and we were very unlucky."

The selection, however, could very well signify that the Crimson's luck is about to change, and a reversal of fortune could not come soon enough. Against Columbia on Saturday, as has been the case in so many of the team's defeats this year, a couple unlucky bounces was all that separated the Crimson from victory.

On each of two outstanding scoring chances in the first half, Harvard saw shots that would have given it a lead bang off the post. Given an extra life after those missed chances, the Lions managed to push the contest into an extra session, during which Columbia midfielder Lauren Papalia notched the game-winning goal.

The victory was Columbia's first-ever over Harvard, as well as the Lions' only Ivy win this season.

"Any time you give a team more chances than you should, there is always that fear that something will go wrong," junior forward Caitlin Costello said.

The Crimson mustered its first and only strike in the 19th minute when Costello netted her third goal of the season. Senior sweeper Brooke McCarthy initiated the play with a pass up the sideline to freshman midfielder Caitlin Fisher. Fisher then sent a booming ball into the box that deflected off a Columbia defender and found the foot of Costello, who fired it into the lower left corner of the goal.

The Crimson was not able to take any comfort in its lead, however, because the Lions responded just 29 seconds later with a quick strike that caught the Harvard defense in transition with just two players in the backfield.

After receiving a clearing pass from midfielder Ashley Clift, midfielder Jamie Pannone led forward Meredith Corkery with a good ball across the middle of the field. Meredith Corkery, who is the younger sister of Harvard's Lauren Corkery, raced past the Crimson defense and beat Harvard goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther with a shot into the far corner.

"Even after they scored that tying goal right after we scored, a lot of us still thought, 'Hey, this is Columbia, we'll be able to come back,'" Costello said. "We couldn't believe it when the game went to overtime."

While both teams threatened to break the tie in the second half, the Crimson had the two best opportunities to avoid an overtime session in the opening half.

In the 28th minute, senior midfielder Meredith Stewart fired a solid shot on net that bounced off the left post. The ricochet came right to Costello, but her attempt on goal was smothered by the sprawled-out Columbia keeper, Janine Ierardi.

Twelve minutes later, with the game knotted at one goal apiece, freshman back Lauren Cozzolino unleashed a screaming liner which Costello headed on goal. The redirect bounced off the left post and fell right to the foot of freshman midfielder Katie Westfall who was stationed well inside the box. Despite having an uncontested shot, Westfall sailed her kick well high of the net, and the game remained tied.

Had either of those two chances been converted, Harvard might have been able to claim victory in regulation. But as the game progressed and the Lions found themselves still in the game, their confidence only improved and so, too, did their level of play.

In the overtime session, Columbia required just under four minutes to notch the winning strike, as Papalia dribbled down the right side, beat a Harvard defender, and fired a shot inside the far post from along the end line.

"I thought there was no chance she was going to score on that play," Costello said. "She was coming from a 180-degree angle [to the goal line]."

Defensively, the Lions did an admirable job frustrating the Crimson's offensive efforts. On separate occasions, both Fisher and sophomore forward Joey Yenne dribbled past a first and second Columbia defender, only to be stopped by another Lions back waiting in the wings.

Despite entering the game having allowed more goals than any other league team, Columbia was able to outlast 22 Harvard shots, including 10 in the second half. Blessed by some help from the goalposts, Ierardi sparkled in net, making eight saves. The Lions keeper was especially effective in the latter stages of the match, as her five second-half stops paved the way for the Lions to win in overtime.

In many ways, Saturday's game was Columbia's finest all-around effort of the season, a fact which very noticeably surprised Harvard.

"Honestly, we were not expecting a lot from Columbia," Costello said. "We didn't expect them to come out as strong as they did."

As surprising as the loss was, the Crimson will happily put it behind it as they look ahead to facing Quinnipiac (13-6-1) on Wednesday. If Harvard can prevail against the Braves, the Crimson would travel to Hartford to play the Hawks in a rematch of Harvard's 2-1 loss last week.

The winner of that game would likely face No. 1 Notre Dame, who advanced all the way to the championship game last season.

Still, the Crimson will be glad to take its chances.

"In the NCAA Tournament, anything can happen," Wheaton said.