Women's Soccer to Take on Crosstown Rival BU

­Over its past 220 minutes of play, the defense of the Harvard women’s soccer team has done just about everything that a coach could ask for.

The back line has repelled attacks from all corner kicks and free kicks.  In fact, the Crimson has conceded no goals and it has recorded no cards.

The only thing missing for Harvard (6-2-2, 1-0-1 Ivy) over this span has been a victory.

After double-overtime draws against Massachusetts and Yale, a mid-week matchup against Boston University (6-3-3, 2-0-2 Patriot) at Soldiers Field offers Harvard the opportunity to end a two-game scoring drought and return to the win column.

As well as the back line played against the Bulldogs and the Minutemen, those two performances form just part of a larger period of defensive dominance.  The last goal given up by the Crimson came on Sept. 14, when a late Colgate strike propelled the Raiders to a 1-0 triumph over Harvard. Since then, the Crimson has recorded 519 minutes of clean-sheet soccer over five games.

Co-captain Marie Margolius, junior Alika Keene, and sophomore Bailey Gary deserve much of the credit for this streak. The trio of defenders has played in all ten games.

“A big reason why we are so good defensively is because of the mindset of this particular Harvard women’s soccer group,” Margolius said. “All over the field, we have a toughness and a work ethic that makes it hard for teams to get through us and score.”

BU is also coming off a double-overtime tie—this one against Lehigh. While Harvard enters on five-game unbeaten streak, the Terriers have not lost in their last four games, a run that includes two wins and two draws.

Junior forward Jenna Fisher leads the offense for BU. A season after scoring just two goals, Fisher has exploded for five thus far this year. No other Terrier has recorded more than two.

As solid as its defense has been, Harvard has enjoyed little offensive success in recent games. Against Yale and Massachusetts, The Crimson recorded a total of just 10 shots on goal combined, and failed to find the back of the net.

“It’s been a challenge,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “Teams have been making it difficult. We’ve been making it difficult as well—missing by just a little bit.... Obviously that’s a focus for the week, to try and improve our finishing."

If the offense does break out of its slump, then sophomore forward Midge Purce may very well be the reason why.

After a first season that included 16 starts and 11 goals, Purce was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, the first Harvard women’s soccer player to earn the honor. This season, Purce leads the team in goals and shots, with four and 30, respectively. She notched a score in the team’s first Ivy League game of the year against Penn.

The BU game provides a break for the Crimson in the middle of Harvard’s Ivy League schedule. After playing the Terriers, the Crimson ends the regular season with five games against Ancient Eight opponents. Harvard has a matchup against Cornell, which sits fourth in the current Ivy league standings.

Although the rest of the team’s league schedule looms following this game, Harvard players insist that that they will not look past BU.

“Every game is another opportunity to get better,” Margolius said. “We are fortunate to be able…to play a good opponent like BU during the Ivy League season.”

Last year, the Crimson played the Terriers to a 1-1 double-overtime draw that featured tough defensive play. After the teams traded goals in the first 30 minutes, the game became a stalemate. Harvard and BU combined for only six shots on goal over the 110 minutes of play.

“Two good teams get to play and work on their sharpness before they go into the weekend’s conference play,” Leone said. “ I look at it as a positive—and not just that but [also] a really good team.”