Crimson Seeks Eleven Straight Over Cornell

After starting conference play with two straight wins, the Harvard women’s soccer team (7-4, 2-0 Ivy) will travel to Ithaca tomorrow in hopes of snatching another victory, this time from seventh-place Cornell (2-9, 0-2).

If history is any indicator, the Crimson should have an easier time coming up with the win on Saturday than it did against its two previous Ivy foes this season: defending champion Penn and Yale. Harvard has prevailed over the Big Red in every matchup since 2000, including last year’s 2-0 victory.

“We definitely try to treat every game as the most important game we’ll ever play—it’s a really good strategy,” freshman defender Lauren Urke said. “Obviously, there is a little more weight to Ivy games because everyone wants to win an Ivy title, but they are all important for our team development.”

The Crimson comes into the contest fresh off a 2-1 win against Fairfield on Tuesday, but the victory didn’t come easily. In its last two games against the Stags and the Bulldogs Harvard got off to a sluggish start before picking up its winning tallies after halftime.

In order to come out on top this weekend, the Crimson is keen on keeping Cornell as far away from the box as possible and finding its offensive rhythm early in the game.

An important factor for Harvard’s success will also be the consistent play of its youth. Eleven games into the season, the rookies have easily adapted to the Harvard system and are starting to flourish. Against Fairfield, freshman Meg Cascells-Hamby scored her fourth goal of the season and was an active playmaker in the midfield. Urke has also featured for the Crimson, playing as a right defender but also moving up the field and participating in the team’s offense.

“I think we are getting in a groove,” junior midfielder Aisha Price said. “The freshmen are a very talented class, and [they] bring a lot to the team.”

In the race for the Ivy championship, Harvard is currently tied for the top spot in the standings with Columbia, but a win this weekend could create some separation between the two Ivy rivals.

The Lions will play Penn, who rebounded from its loss against the Crimson with a win over Cornell last weekend.

The Big Red did not go down easily in that matchup in Philadelphia. Despite the Quakers’ early score in the second period, Cornell responded with the equalizer eight minutes later, only to see its comeback attempt fall short after Penn’s Marin McDermott deftly placed a header past the Big Red goalkeeper with 15 minutes remaining.

“Cornell brings a lot of energy to the table, and they’re a good team,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “They have demonstrated that in their first games of the Ivy League, by taking people to the end in tough games.”

A deciding factor in this weekend’s contest could be Cornell’s Charles F. Berman Field, which features grass as opposed to the turf with which the Crimson is more familiar. Harvard has taken note of this difference, and in its preparation, the squad played the Stags at Ohiri Field—a grass pitch—last week.

Defense will also be a key aspect of the game. In order to ensure a positive result, the Crimson has focused this past week on its defensive scheme.

“We are working on the thing we believe needs improvement,” Leone said. “We definitely want to try to defend a lot better than we did in the last two games.”

Harvard’s back line may have its hands full tomorrow. Junior forward Maneesha Chitanvis, the Big Red’s leading scorer in 2010, will be a threat to keep an eye on.

Chitanvis has scored four goals this season, already just one shy of her total last year. She also leads the team with nine points.

The Crimson defense has remained composed in its past four games, allowing only three goals. The offense has complemented the hardworking back line very nicely, outscoring its opponents by seven goals and sparking the team’s current four-game winning streak.

“Each game and team presents a different challenge for us,” Leone said. “I think the [team] is coming together, and the freshmen are working hard, and that’s something we expect but also appreciate.”

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.