Women's Soccer Completes Perfect Ivy Campaign

The goal for the Harvard women’s soccer team going into its final game of the regular season against Columbia was simple: perfection. After clinching the program’s 11th Ivy League title last week with a 2-1 win over Dartmouth, the team needed just one more win to finish with a perfect conference record.

The Crimson did not disappoint, as they continued their roll through the Ivies with a 2-1 road win over Columbia to go undefeated in the league for the first time since 1999.

“It’s a special feeling,” senior co-captain Peyton Johnson said. “It’s something that we’ll never forget. Winning the Ivy title is one thing, but then also knowing that you had a season where on every day you came out and you gave it everything and came out with a win is another. Just having no regrets about any game is a really nice feeling and hopefully gives us confidence moving forward.”

Despite the fact that Harvard already had the league title wrapped up, Columbia refused to make it easy for the Crimson women to come out with the win. While Harvard dominated the first half, taking eight of their 9 shots on the net and scoring both of their goals before halftime, the Lions refused to go quietly and ramped up their efforts after the break.

With the Crimson up, 2-0, Columbia senior Beverly Leon took advantage of a penalty kick just five minutes into the second half to bring the Lions within one off her ninth goal of the season. After challenging Harvard for most of the second half, Columbia’s best chance to tie the game was answered by freshman goalie Lizzie Durack, who made a save at point-blank range with less than ten minutes remaining to retain the lead for the Crimson.

“It was a really hard-fought game by both teams,” Johnson said. “I think we played really well in the first half, but give Columbia a lot of credit, the second half they just never gave up. They made us fight for every minute and we managed to hold on, which is what counts for the result sheet.”

Senior captain Elizabeth Weisman started the scoring early, blasting a shot from the penalty area just 14 minutes into the contest. It was the senior’s sixth goal of the season and gave the Crimson a lead they would never relinquish.

“Since there’s been a lot on the line [the past few games], it’s been very tense,” Weisman said. “Now that we have the title under our belt, we’re more calm and focused on playing well, and the goals still came with that.”

Junior midfielder Meg Cascells-Hamby added to Harvard’s tally just before halftime off an assist from classmate Lauren Urke. Urke passed the ball on the right side to Cascells-Hamby, who then kicked the ball just above Columbia netminder Grace Redmon to put the Crimson up 2-0. It was the last time anyone on the Harvard team would score, but the defense stepped up in the second half to keep Columbia from overtaking the Crimson on the scoreboard.

“Our back line did an exceptional job, especially [junior] Erika Garcia and [sophomore] Alika Keane,” Johnson said. “They’ve really been rocks for us all year. We were really under a lot of pressure in the second half, and they just kept turning away Columbia attack after Columbia attack. I think so much of our success this season, especially in narrow wins like yesterday, comes down to those two.”

It was a group effort for Harvard in net, as junior Cheta Emba, Durack, and junior Bethany Kanten all saw time in net for the Crimson. All three goalies played their part in the victory, as each made two saves to give the Crimson the win. Durack in particular stepped up, turning away two shots in the final ten minutes.

With the Ivy title securely in the Harvard women’s possession, the next stop is the NCAA tournament. While the Crimson’s last attempt ended relatively quickly, with a 3-0 loss to Boston University in the first round, the Harvard women are currently riding a program-record 14-game winning streak and will bring with them the confidence that comes from that perfect record.

“It’s something that you dream about doing, especially as a senior,” Weisman said. “I know the other three seniors feel the same way. It’s amazing. It just really shows the hard work we’ve put in over the course of an entire year has paid off.”