Offense Hits Stride in Easy Victory

Harvard women’s soccer cruised to a 3-0 victory on Saturday against Cornell, scoring once in the first half and twice in the second on the way to an impressive second Ivy League win.

“[We] really showed that we are a great team and that we can put goals away,” junior forward Christina Hagner said.

Harvard (5-3-3, 2-1 Ivy) hosted the Big Red (1-8-1, 0-3) on an unseasonably warm fall day at Ohiri Field. The Crimson was looking to match the level of play attained during its 3-1 defeat of Yale on Oct. 4, while Cornell sought a positive result after three straight Ivy losses.

Harvard took the lead in the game’s 10th minute. A cross served in from the right side of the goal box deflected off a Big Red defender into the back of the net.

The Crimson’s second goal came in the 73rd minute, when Hagner’s header beat Cornell freshman goalkeeper Kelly Murphy.

Slightly over a minute later, Harvard sophomore forward Katherine Sheeleigh finished off a nice attacking move with a volleyed goal, the third of the match.

The game’s first half saw the Crimson enjoy the majority of possession. The first few minutes were played almost entirely in Big Red territory, but Harvard was unable to test Murphy.

Cornell picked up its play in the eighth minute, when junior forward Eva Dixon put a good chance over the crossbar. Freshman midfielder Abigail Apistolas followed by forcing a good save from Harvard junior keeper Lauren Mann.

Fortune then favored the Crimson, as Murphy could only stand and watch as a cross from the right side of the goal box hit off a defender and fell into her net for Harvard’s first score.

Harvard coach Ray Leone’s urging of his team to play faster was audible from the stands.

“We were struggling to move the ball quickly,” Leone said after the match. “So, obviously when you don’t move [the ball] quickly, it’s easy to defend.”

Harvard’s best chance of the half came in the 18th minute. Sophomore midfielder Gina Wideroff collected a pass from Hagner about eight yards from goal, but her left-footed effort went wide.

Freshman midfielder Patricia Yau bid for goal twice in the 40th minute, but both her efforts were saved by Murphy. The Crimson entered the break up 1-0.

The opening minutes of the second half were much the same as the first, with Harvard holding more of the possession, but only managing the occasional chance.

The complexion of the game changed when freshman Melanie Baskind was switched from her normal forward position to midfield about 15 minutes into the half.

“[Baskind] just got the ball a little bit more, so she was more involved in the game,” Leone said of the change.

The tactical switch paid dividends, as Baskind was able to facilitate play through the midfield, resulting in a number of good Crimson chances over the next several minutes.

Sheeleigh had four good chances, just missing scores in the 60th, 62nd, 63rd and 67th minutes. Harvard then doubled its lead off a 73rd minute corner kick.

“My position [on corners] is always to go back post, and so I noticed that they’d been keeping that open,” Hagner said.

The junior was able to exploit this soft spot in the Big Red defense, powerfully heading Baskind’s well-taken corner into the net.

Soon after, Baskind’s ball split the Cornell back line and found Hagner streaking down the left side of the field. Hagner then crossed the ball to Sheeleigh, whose volley into the back of the net finished off the well-worked sequence.

The Crimson then sent in a number of substitutes, who were able sustain their high level of play over the final 15 minutes of the game, with many shots coming close to extending the lead.

Much of the credit for the 3-0 victory goes to the Harvard defense: keeper Mann, junior Kelli Okuji, junior Lizzy Nichols, sophomore Katherine Kuzma, and freshman Lindsey Kowal. The unit kept Cornell’s offense in check for the whole game, allowing few good chances in the shutout.

“They’ve been excellent all year long, its always nice, because they don’t get a lot of credit, so it was really good for them to get their clean sheet,” Leone said.

“Our defense is extremely solid,” Hagner said. “I think most important with a back line is that you can trust them, and I trust them.”