Women's Soccer Extends Win Streak to Six

Harvard women’s soccer scored first in Yale’s Reese Stadium Saturday and extended its winning streak to six with a 3-1 win its second Ivy League game.

“It was an excellent game,” Harvard (6-3-1, 2-0 Ivy) coach Ray Leone said. “We played really well in the first half and did some good attacking things, but in the second half Yale came out flying and it put us on our heels for a long period of time.”

The Bulldogs’ second-half rally closed the differential to a single goal, where it stayed for much of the game.

Yale (3-1, 1-1 Ivy) forward Melissa Gavin scored the lone goal for the hosts in the 57th minute. She tucked a corner-kick behind junior goaltender Cheta Emba to keep her side in it.

“The start of the second half was a little bit hectic and I think it was really important that we did not stop pushing after they scored,” freshman defender Bailey Gary said. “It wasn’t our prettiest game of soccer but we played with a spark and hunger that ultimately got the job done.”

The Harvard-Yale rivalry created a competitive and emotional atmosphere.

“We wanted to be ready for the emotion of the game. We wanted to move the ball and move the ball well, and we really did do that,” Leone said. “It got a little frantic in the middle. When two teams are fighting with everything they’ve got no one is going to dominate for very long.”

The Crimson finished off its opponent with an unassisted breakaway goal by freshman forward Margaret Purce in the 84th minute. Purce ran half the field to fire a shot past the Bulldog goalkeeper with her left foot.

“When [Purce] scored the third goal, it really allowed us to settle down and manage the rest of the game,” Gary said.

Just over 30 minutes into the match, junior defender Marie Margoulis redirected a corner kick by co-captain Peyton Johnson for the days’ first goal.

“The first goal, of course, was really a key moment in the game,” Gary said. “I think it really pumped us up and gave us the boost we needed to get that second goal so quickly after.”

Minutes later, freshman forward Karly Ziatic scored her third goal in four games. Junior midfielder Meg Cascells-Hamby rushed past defense to move the ball forward and set up the play.

“The first half was an amazing stretch so we just kind of held on for dear life,” Leone said. “We were fortunate enough to get in a winning goal to make it 3-1.

The Harvard defense shut down Yale’s offense for the majority of the game.

“We had great defense and our backline was really strong even though Yale has talented attackers,” Leone said. “I think the overall play of the backline was incredible.”

The Bulldogs only managed to attempt six shots on goal compared to the Crimson’s 15.

“We wanted to break Yale’s game apart while remaining true to our own game, so we needed to shut down their key plays and players but not lose our own style of play,” Gary said. “I feel like we accomplished just that and that definitely helped in our win.”

Moving forward, Harvard is looking to recover and prepare for a game against cross-town rival Boston University Tuesday and its next Ivy League competitor, Cornell, next weekend.

“The good thing is we have a game Tuesday. We can flush the legs out and get a practice or two in and we play Boston University on Tuesday,” Leone said. “Our main goal right now is just having another shot before going into the next Ivy League game next Saturday.”

Despite the now six-game winning streak win, the squad is focused on the short term.

“We will be focusing on working hard to prepare, both mentally and physically, for playing Cornell,” Gary said. “We’re really working on taking our season week by week.”