Breakout Day for Crimson Offense

Harvard women’s soccer was firing on all cylinders Saturday against Yale, riding a balanced offensive attack and a complete game effort to a 3-1 victory and its first Ivy League win of the season.

“We knew this was a big game for us,” sophomore forward Katherine Sheeleigh said. “We came in the night before the game, we knew we had to bring it, [and] we brought it for all 90 minutes. We were just relentless.”

Crimson coach Ray Leone was happy with his team’s effort.

“[Today was] an emotional game,” he said. “Obviously when you’re playing Yale, it’s the biggest game you can imagine, [and] we brought it for 90 minutes.”

The Crimson (4-3-3, 1-1-0 Ivy) played host to the Bulldogs (5-5-1, 0-2-0 Ivy) on a clear, windy day at Ohiri Field. Harvard dominated the run of play in the first half, taking the lead in the 34th minute when freshman forward Melanie Baskind’s skillful over-the shoulder volley split Yale’s back line and fell into the path of the speedy Sheeleigh. The sophomore saw her effort to slot the ball across the goal mouth deflect in for the game’s first goal, her second of the season.

“I was just running down the flank...I was looking to put [the ball] back in, and we had our team crashing in,” Sheeleigh said of the goal.

Before that tally, Harvard had controlled possession. Junior forward Christina Hagner brought the crowd to its feet in the 16th minute, hitting the post with a powerful header off Baskind’s corner.

Junior defender Lizzy Nichols then came close as well, serving in a free kick from close to midfield that took a wild bounce in the box, forcing Bulldog keeper Ayana Sumiyasu to push the ball over the bar.

The complexion of the game changed after senior midfielders Rachael Lau and Erin Wylie were substituted at around the 20-minute mark. Play opened up with possession evening out, as the two sides traded attacks in each other’s halves and both defenses held strong.

Harvard came out aggressively after the break, with Baskind, Sheeleigh, and Wylie all managing early shots. Yale also created some good chances. Freshman Hino Miyuki sent a shot over after a well-slotted ball into the middle of the Crimson’s goal-box.

Harvard doubled its lead 10 minutes into the half off of a quick counter-attack from a blocked shot by Miyuki. A ball from Sheeleigh sent Baskind in behind the Yale defense, but Sumiyasu saved Baskind’s shot and Sheeleigh’s follow-up effort off the rebound was cleared from the goal line. The ball fell to Baskind, who finished the move with a powerful right-footed bid into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season.

“Mel just dug it out and hammered it in the net,” Sheeleigh said. “It was really good finishing.”

The teams continued to trade shots over the course of the half, and Harvard had a few chances at its third goal before finally cashing in. Baskind came close to doubling her tally in the 67th minute when she collected the ball close to midfield and used her advantage in speed to surge past the Bulldog defense; her bid for her second goal shot off the crossbar.

But two minutes later, the Crimson won a corner off of a deflected Sheeleigh effort. Baskind’s subsequent cross into the box found Hagner, who volleyed home her first goal of the year.

With the game well in hand, Harvard did its best to run out the clock with possession, but Yale continued to press and was awarded a penalty kick in the 85th minute after senior forward Emma Whitfield went to the ground inside the penalty box.

Crimson junior keeper Lauren Mann saved the penalty, taken by the Bulldogs’ Maggie Westfal, but Westfal collected the rebound and calmly finished, making the score 3-1 in favor of Harvard.

The Bulldogs saw one more decent chance in the closing minutes of the game, but the Crimson defense held strong to secure the team an impressive first Ivy victory.

When asked about strategy, the Harvard coach spoke more about emotion than any specific tactical plan.

“[Our goal] was emotion more than anything—forget about the system, forget the style, bring energy more than anything,” Leone said.

Leone was also pleased with his forward line, particularly the combined play of Sheeleigh and Baskind.

“They’ve [only] played together for basically a month, they’re starting to learn…and it’s starting to really come together for them,” he said.

Sheeleigh echoed Leone’s sentiments on Harvard’s play up top.

“Today everything just came together in the final third,” the sophomore said. “We’ve been really strong defensively all year, but offensively we haven’t been making connections. Today was just a breakthrough game for the offense. Between Melanie Baskind, Christina Hagner, and[me], we just all work together and we were just all on the same page and just collaborated to be dangerous.”

Captain Nicole Rhodes missed the game due to injury, though Leone seemed optimistic about her return. Harvard will look to notch its second Ivy win next Saturday at home against Cornell.