Rams First-Half Onslaught Too Much for Crimson to Overcome

When the Harvard women’s soccer team met the University of Rhode Island last year, the match ended in a scoreless draw after a double overtime, 120-minute defensive struggle.

Wednesday’s rematch could not have been more different.

After several games in which the Crimson (1-7-1) opened play passively, the team stressed the importance of attacking from the start against the Rams. Harvard fulfilled this objective, pressuring Rhode Island (4-6-0) early.

“To be honest, the first 15 minutes I thought we were the better team,” said head coach Erica Walsh.

However, the Rams seized the lead ten minutes into the game when Rhode Island forward Lauren Forgione took advantage of a Crimson miscommunication to slip past the defense and give the Rams a 1-0 lead.

Down a goal early, the Crimson defense unraveled, allowing a second goal within a minute of the first.

“From the beginning of warm-ups, we had set a goal for ourselves to come out with intensity,” said junior midfielder Megan Merritt. “Then we let a goal in and we dropped our guard. The goals just kept coming. They had the momentum and they maintained it.”

The remainder of the first half rapidly turned into a rout, as the Crimson found itself unable to stop the speedy Rams forwards, who scored thrice more before the half.

“After they scored the first goal and then the second goal right away, we stopped communicating and kind of broke down as a team,” Odorczyk said.

With the defense in disarray, Rams forwards found consistent scoring opportunities by creating one-on-one matchups with freshman goalie Lauren Mann.

Trailing 5-0 at halftime, Harvard came out in the second half playing with nothing to lose and found the composure it had lacked earlier.

“We started communicating and connecting,” Merritt said. “We played the ball from the back to the midfield to the forward line.”

In addition to the improved ball movement, Crimson forwards Megan Kerr, Erin Wiley, and Christina Hagner hounded the Rhode Island defense, challenging for balls and dribbling at defenders.

The newfound aggressiveness created scoring opportunities, and Harvard finally capitalized off a corner kick. Wylie played a short corner to Rachael Lau, who dribbled in along the goal line. Lau rocketed a pass across the goal mouth, finding freshman Katie Varney at the far post for a tap-in.

“We won the second half 1-0,” Odorczyk said. “I think we allowed only one shot on goal. We basically dominated play.”

While the final score of 5-1 disappointed, the Crimson must learn from its mistakes before the team’s home game against Yale this weekend.

According to Walsh, the Bulldogs will pose a similar challenge for the Crimson. Like Rhode Island, the strength of Yale’s team lies in its speedy and athletic forwards.

“We learned we have to be as strong mentally as we are physically,” Odorczyk said. “Individually, we are very skilled, but overall we have to play as a team if we are going to find success.”

Despite the disappointing loss to Rhode Island and earlier losses to nationally ranked teams, the Crimson currently enjoys an undefeated record in the Ivy League after Sunday’s win against Penn.

Harvard will be helped by the return from injury of defenders Allison Keeley and Lizzy Nichols. Freshman midfielder Devon Sherman will remain on the sidelines for at least one more game after suffering a right ankle sprain September 15th in a loss to Penn State.

Ultimately, the Crimson can compete with Yale, but to do so will take cohesive team play.

“I’m much less concerned about what Yale is going to do than about how we’re going to play,” Walsh said.