ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Center Backs Anchor Crimson Defense

UPDATED: October 7, 2014, at 4:15 a.m.

This past Saturday, the Harvard women’s soccer team (6-2-2, 1-0-1 Ivy) fought for 110 minutes against Yale (5-3-1, 0-1-1 Ivy) at Soldiers Field, finishing with a scoreless draw. This marked the Crimson’s fifth consecutive shutout, bringing its shutout-percentage to .700 on the season. Center backs junior Alika Keene and sophomore Bailey Gary were instrumental in fending off the Bulldogs’ attacks and fueling the shutout streak.

Saturday afternoon’s bout versus Yale was one of the Harvard’s most evenly matched contests this season, with each side producing 14 shots. The Bulldogs and the Crimson had three and four shots on goal, respectively. Coming into the match, the Crimson had a nine-game Ivy League winning streak, carrying over from last season. Four of those nine wins had a one-goal margin.  A major contributor to Harvard’s success has been the defensive team of Keene and Gary, with both players starting all nine of those Ivy games together.

Harvard head coach Ray Leone is excited by what Keene and Gary have demonstrated so far in the season, especially in terms of their ability to work with each other to stifle offenses and protect the net.

“They have really been as strong as you could possibly ask for together,” Leone said. “They cover each other really well, they complement each other really well. It’s been an awesome stretch for them.”

The center back positions in soccer are normally filled by two of the team’s toughest and most aggressive players. Leone was quick to highlight the stark difference between his two center backs’ demeanors on and off the field.

“Its kind of funny that they are such tough players and tough defenders when you watch them play. They are very soft spoken people in the locker room,” Leone said. “They are just really nice kids but they just play with an incredible edge in every game they play.”

Leone also noted the drastic growth that he has seen in Keene and Gary, especially Keene’s year-over-year rapid development.

“Alika is a year older so she has grown an amazing amount and that started in the last year when she became a presence, a 90-minute player,” Leone said. “She has picked up where she left off last year.”

Teammates have also highlighted the duo’s abilities and their roles as the anchors of the last line of defense for the Crimson squad. Co-captain Marie Margolius said that she is impressed by their exponential growth as defenders and the tremendous consistency they have displayed throughout this season.

“Having the two of them back there together is just so comforting because they are so solid and will do whatever they can to help the team at all times,” Margolius said. “An important part of the center back position is being able to work really well with whomever you are playing next to and the two of them have worked on really becoming a cohesive unit this season.”

Keene & Gary’s unique, symbiotic relationship is also exemplified by the comments they made about each other.

“We just have that chemistry that we didn't even need to work on,” Keene said about her teammate Gary. “She is a great player because she gives it all to the team and she is committed 110 percent.”

Gary shared similar sentiments about Keene, emphasizing Keene’s role as a team player.

“She works so hard and puts the team first,” Gary said. “You can always count on her and she is just an all-around great person to have on the team.”

With upcoming contests against Brown, Dartmouth, and Columbia, each of which were decided by one-goal margins last season, the Crimson will continue to rely on the Keene-Gary duo to maintain the defense it has showed in the team’s first ten games.