Women's Soccer Looks to Extend Streak Against Penn

With last week’s match against UMass Lowell, the Crimson posted its most powerful offensive performance in almost a decade. Harvard looks to continue its momentum against Penn on Friday night.

Despite outplaying its opponents, the Crimson dropped three closely contested matches to start the season.  The losses came against Cal, San Francisco and University of New Hampshire.

Harvard turned things around with a tie against Providence followed by three consecutive wins against LIU Brooklyn, Rhode Island, and UMass Lowell.  The Crimson was strong on both ends of the field, outscoring its opponents 8-0.

“In general, we are learning to put together the pieces that everyone brings to the team,” captain Peyton Johnson said.  “We are more dangerous on the attack, and our defense has come together to be very solid these last two games.”

The Crimson turned it around in its last two games. After getting on the scoreboard three times in four matches,  Harvard matched its season’s total against Rhode Island before posting its five-goal performance.

“We’re pretty excited about it.”  said sophomore midfielder Brooke Dickens. “Our team dynamic is definitely improving.”

The Crimson’s past few victories have provided a strong improvement in Harvard’s morale. The squad hopes to translate this into success on the field tonight.

“Winning in such a commanding fashion has been a huge boost for our confidence,” said Johnson. “We’ve really been able to break it down and learn from the things that went right.”

Seven different players scored in the Crimson’s last three games. Junior defender Marie Margolius,  junior midfielder Laura Aguilar, freshman forward Joan Fleischman, sophomore forward Lauren Varela, freshman forward Karly Zlatic,  and senior midfielder Kristina Giraldo have each scored while newcomer Midge Purce has netted a team-high four goals.

“We’re confident in all of our players, and we’re truly excited,” said Head Coach Ray Leone. “Everyone is capable of playing the game, and they all have.”

The level of performance has inspired a degree of confidence amongst the group.

“It’s great to have a team where you can trust every single girl to do a great job on the field,” Dickens said.

Harvard is looking to continue its winning streak against Penn in its first Ivy League contest.

“This is always one of the most exciting games of the year for us,” said Johnson.  “Ivy League season is what we look forward to the most. We all know that we need to step our intensity up a notch.”

The Quakers (4-0-2) head into this match undefeated.  Penn is led by Tahirih Nesmith and Kerry Scalora, who have posted a team high of three goals each, and will be Harvard’s greatest threats going into the face off.  On the defensive end, the Quakers have only let in two goals this entire season.

“They are organized, experienced, and a very tough team,” Leone said. “We have a lot of respect for them... It’s going to be quite a challenge.”

While recognizing that Penn will be a formidable opponent, the Crimson remains confident.

“Every Ivy league game is a battle,” Dickens said. “Looking at Penn we have to realize that they’re a good team, but we can play with them and hopefully come out on top.”

With this in mind, Harvard is eager to get on the field against Penn. The squad plans to continue implementing the strong offense that has emerged in the past three games and hopes to start the run for the Ivy League title on a positive note.

“Our goals are always the same,” Leone said. “We want to be in the hunt for the Ivy League race...and it all starts Friday night."