‘D’ Can’t Save W. Soccer

The old adage is that defense wins championships. At the same time, you can’t win unless you score goals.

That became patently obvious to the Harvard women’s soccer team during the adidas/Hypertherm Tournament this weekend at Dartmouth, where the Crimson (2-3-1) tied Auburn 0-0 before falling to No. 8 Virginia 1-0.

Virginia 1, Harvard 0

On Sunday, Harvard conceded an early goal to Virginia (6-1-1), which made it stand up to win not only the match, but also the tournament title.

The Crimson struggled early against the Cavaliers, falling behind when tournament offensive MVP Lindsay Gusick struck midway through the first half.

But Harvard rallied itself and played spirited soccer in the second half.

“[The second half] was the best soccer that we’ve played all four years I’ve been here,” senior midfielder Katie Westfall said.

But, continuing a trend that had plagued it for the entire tournament, the Crimson was unable to capitalize on its opportunities.

“We created a lot of chances,” said co-captain Katie Hodel, who is also a Crimson editor. “It’s just a matter of putting one or two of them away. We couldn’t finish.”

Harvard focused on ball movement against Virginia, attempting to pass between players rather than simply sending long balls to open space.

“We did a great job of moving the ball out of the back and finding our central midfielders,” Hodel said. “Our forwards also did a great job of combining with our central midfielders.”

Despite its best efforts, the Crimson was ultimately stymied by the tournament’s defensive MVP, Cavalier goalkeeper Anne Abernethy, and the Virginia defense, which extended its shutout streak to 328 minutes.

The game left Harvard with mixed emotions.

“We’re excited that we came back in the second half, but we need to play like that for the whole game,” Hodel said.

Harvard 0, Auburn 0

In the tournament opener, Harvard and Auburn (5-1-1) fought to a scoreless tie on a windy, rainy Friday afternoon in a game characterized by tight defense and suffocating goaltending on both sides.

“It was one of those ties that felt more like a loss,” Hodel said.

Despite what the scoreboard said, the Crimson believed it was the superior team in the contest.

“We dominated, but we just couldn’t finish,” Westfall said. “It was pretty lopsided.”

Harvard had numerous chances in the two overtimes. As the Crimson defense held the Tigers without a single shot in the two sessions, Harvard peppered the Auburn goal with five, including four on target.

“A couple of those shots seemed like they were going in for sure,” Hodel said.

Earlier in the match, it was a different story, as the Tigers outshot the Crimson 12-7 in regulation—6-2 in the first half alone.

Shields made six saves to keep the score tied while the Crimson probed the Tiger defense.

“A lot of balls were just dumped in [toward the forwards], with no direction,” Hodel said.

Harvard returns to action on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. when it opens its Ivy League schedule, hosting Penn at Ohiri Field. The team is optimistic about its chances in the upcoming Ivy season. Moreover, it’s certainly well-prepared—the Crimson has played a team in the current top-25 each of the past three weekends, losing by just a goal each time.

“We’re confident in ourselves,” Hodel said. “Having experience makes us more dangerous. We feel that we can win the Ivy League Championship hands-down.”