Crimson Notches Shutout Victory

Ask any of the teams who have faced the Harvard women’s soccer team this season. The easiest way to beat the Crimson is to go after the squad in the first half.

But yesterday was different, as Harvard was ready from the opening whistle, taking it to the Vermont Catamounts (3-6-2) en route to a 2-0 win.

“Coach [Erica Walsh] gave us a good pre-game talk and we came out fired up,” senior co-captain Laura Odorczyk said. “We probably had our best warm up of the season.”

With about ten minutes remaining in the first half, sophomore Erin Wylie took a feed from freshman mid-fielder Kelli Okuji and did what she does best: found the back of the net.

The goal, her third on the year, gave the Crimson just its second first half score of the season. It would be all it needed to secure the win.

Walsh praised the team for putting together a full 90 minute effort, something Harvard (2-8-1; 1-1-0 Ivy) has been striving for all season.

“We showed a lot of courage, heart, and character to get the win today,” Walsh said. “From start to finish, they all stepped it up today.”

The insurance goal came courtesy of sophomore Zoe Sarnak’s first tally of the season with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game. Harvard was awarded a free kick just outside the box and freshman Lizzy Nichols was able to connect with Sarnak for the score.

Sarnak is the seventh Crimson player to get in on the scoring action so far this season. Of the seven, Wylie is the only player with more than one goal.

The encouraging win also speaks to the prowess of the quickly maturing freshmen.

The starting lineup, containing six first-years, is dominated by this talented but inexperienced class.

“Fortunately or unfortunately we’ve had to throw freshmen into some important roles,” Walsh said. “That [success] does not happen over night.”

Perhaps it is at least starting to happen. With Nichols notching her team-leading third assist and Okuji tallying her first, the freshmen have now contributed seven out of the team’s ten assists on the year.

“The freshmen have been stepping up all year, but today they finally felt comfortable with their roles,” Odorczyk said.

If this is in fact a sign of things to come, then Harvard has much to look forward to from its young offensive guns.

On the defensive front, the freshmen also stood out Wednesday night. While their forward counterparts were busy helping the offensive effort, the defense, anchored in part by Nichols and fellow first-year keeper Laura Mann, was dominant, with Mann posting her second shut out of the season.

The impressive overall effort will hopefully give the Crimson some much needed confidence as it heads into a crucial Ivy-League game against Cornell this weekend.