W. Soccer Rests In Victory

Although the schedule will show that the Harvard women’s soccer team played only a single game yesterday afternoon—a 3-1 win over New Hampshire on Ohiri Field—the Crimson players think otherwise.

Harvard (4-3-3, 1-0-1 Ivy) tested out a new strategy against the Wildcats (3-6-3, 1-0-1 America East), dividing the game into intervals of 20 minutes and attempting to outplay New Hampshire in each one.

“We tried to get the first goal, the first tackle and the first corner in each segment,” junior forward Emily Colvin said. “We’re hoping that it will help us score more goals.”

It certainly didn’t hurt, as the Crimson equaled its most prolific goal output this season.

“[The strategy] worked well in the first half, but not quite as well in the second half,” junior Alisha Moran said.

Only three of Harvard’s 15 second-half shots were on net, compared with 10 of 16 in the first half. The Wildcats only took three shots all game.

Initially frustrated by wasted chances early in the game, the Crimson finally broke through the New Hampshire defense. After a nifty give-and-go between freshman back Laura Odorczyk and senior forward Alisa Sato, senior midfielder Katie Westfall collected the ball in the box and deposited it into the gaping net. It was Westfall’s first tally this year after she finished tied for second on the squad last year with five goals.

Harvard soon struck again for an insurance goal. After gaining a corner kick for the Crimson with a nice defensive effort in the offensive zone, sophomore midfielder Rebecca Mildrew headed Westfall’s cross low into the net. The goal was the first of Mildrew’s college career.

“[Scoring your] first goal is great, because it’s like you’re opening the door,” Moran said. “You just start the faucet and let the water flow.”

Moran accounted for Harvard’s third goal, her team-leading sixth of the year. She took a corner kick from freshman Becky Junkermeier and headed it just under the crossbar to push the margin to three.

Contrary to what its success on corners might indicate, the team had not been specifically focusing on them in practice.

“We scored a lot of corner goals last year,” Colvin said. “Hopefully this is the start of something.”

New Hampshire struck back almost immediately after the third goal as sophomore goalkeeper Maja Agustsdottir deflected a cross away from her goal only to have it ricochet off her own defender back into the net.

Agustsdottir had replaced fellow sophomore Katie Shields at halftime.

Shields didn’t face a single shot as she improved upon her already-impressive numbers. She has now allowed just 4 goals in 825 minutes of action this year.

The Crimson could have added to its lead if not for missed opportunities. Junior back Liza Barber headed a cross just over the net in the 12th minute, sophomore midfielder Maile Tavepholjalern fired a shot off the crossbar three minutes later and sophomore Sara Sedgwick had her cross tipped off the crossbar by the goalkeeper in the 33rd minute.

Harvard possessed the ball and kept it in the New Hampshire end for almost all of the match.

As the game progressed, Crimson coach Tim Wheaton took advantage of Harvard’s lead by giving some of his key players a break for significant portions of the match.

“An extra day off to rest is nice,” Colvin said. “The middle of the season is really tough.”

In place of veterans like co-captain Katie Hodel, Sato, Colvin, Moran and Barber, less experienced players like Mildrew, Junkermeier, sophomore forward Ayo Adigun, sophomore back Anne Reed and freshman Brittany Meeks had chances to prove their mettle.

“It’s nice to have a game where everyone gets to play,” Moran said. “Everyone on this team is qualified to play.”

Although co-captain left back Caitlin Fisher missed her second straight game with an ankle injury, the Crimson was bolstered by the return of senior back Lauren Cozzolino, who missed the team’s previous game with tightness in her calves. Cozzolino was only able to play the final 16 minutes of the first half, but intends to increase her minutes over the coming games.

Harvard returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Cornell to begin a string of three Ivy League games in its next four matches.

“We’re playing well and we’re confident,” Moran said. “We just need to stay competitive and go out there and play Harvard soccer the way it’s meant to be played.”