W. Soccer Seniors Go Out With Bang Versus Lions

After being honored before their final home action of the season, the graduating members of the Harvard women’s soccer team made sure that Senior Day involved more than just a pre-game ceremony and some homemade signs.

The Crimson (8-6-2, 4-3-0 Ivy) tallied twice in the opening minutes of the game and never looked back, taking a 3-0 decision over Columbia (9-8-0, 1-6-0) in an effort that was spearheaded largely by the four senior members of the Harvard squad.

Much of the drama was taken out of this one early. In just the sixth minute, freshman midfielder Megan Merritt sent the ball through the defense to classmate Jamie Greenwald, who fired a shot into the far side of the goal.

Less than 20 seconds later, senior forward Alisha Moran recorded the 17th and likely final goal of her illustrious Harvard career when she gathered a through-ball from Greenwald and slid it past the charging goalkeeper.

“[Alisha] is one of the kids who’s really taken it up a notch,” said Harvard coach Tim Wheaton. “She’s always been a good player for us, but this year she’s a machine. She’s fit and can run forever.”

Attacking into a stiff wind during the first half, the Crimson relied mostly on short, accurate passes, and was able to dominate possession of the ball.

“We went in with the strategy that, as long as we’re possessing the ball, the opportunities will come,” Moran said. “You just have to have patience.”

With the Lions stymied again and again by the staunch Harvard defense, the Crimson put the game away for good on a counterattack with less than five minutes remaining. Junior midfielder Maile Tavepholjalern sent the ball to junior forward Sara Sedgwick, who found the corner of the net to create the final margin.

The 3-0 final was a mirror image of Harvard’s game last week, when the Crimson lost to Dartmouth by a score of 3-0.

“It was great to go out [at home] on a note where the whole team played well,” said Moran. “We were determined to play better than we did at Dartmouth.”

And on Senior Day at Ohiri Field—where Harvard was an undefeated 5-0-1 on the season—it was only fitting that the four Crimson seniors led their teammates by example, as they have done all year.

There was Moran, tallying a goal as well as having another shot deflected off the post while leading the team with three shots on goal.

There was senior forward Emily Colvin, outrunning Columbia defenders for loose balls and rifling a shot off the crossbar in the first half—one of three shots for Colvin in the game.

There was captain back Liza Barber, anchoring the defense and even stopping and clearing a shot on the goal line when junior goalkeeper Katie Shields was beat.

And there was captain midfielder Falyne Chave, helping Harvard control the midfield and always putting herself in the thick of the action.

“[Liza] draws your eye, and Alisha does [as well] with her speed,” said Wheaton. “Falyne has been an incredible leader, and Emily has scored a bunch of goals for us. They make it clear to their teammates what being a team member means. Leadership is everything. [The seniors] have been great.”

Of course, the experienced quartet of players didn’t win the game for the Crimson without help from their teammates.

Shields made four saves in recording her fifth shutout of the season, as Harvard controlled play to the tune of a 20-4 advantage in shots. Barber worked with freshman back Michelle Hull and sophomore back Laura Odorczyk to shut down any offensive opportunities for the Lions before they had a chance to materialize.

“I think defense reveals a team character, because it’s about teamwork and focus and discipline,” said Wheaton. “I’m really proud of them.”

On the offensive side, Colvin, Moran, Sedgwick, Greenwald and sophomore midfielder Katie Johnston continually peppered the Columbia net with shots, while Tavepholjalern, Chave and Merritt helped control the ball in the midfield for the Crimson.

“We weren’t winning any 50-50 balls [against Dartmouth] last week,” said Moran. “We worked on it in practice and won many more [this week].”

With its regular season over, Moran says that the team will practice on Monday and then will gather together to listen to the 2004 NCAA Tournament selection show in order to find out if Harvard has received an at-large bid for postseason play.

While the team has only an outside shot for a playoff berth, the Crimson has shown that it can compete with the best teams in the nation. Harvard defeated then-No. 25 Connecticut this season and lost by just a single goal to then-No. 4 Penn State, then-No. 6 Portland and then-No. 9 Princeton.

—Staff writer Jonathan P. Hay can be reached at hay@fas.harvard.edu.