Women's Soccer Ties in Double Overtime

High pressure and high intensity were the names of the game as the women’s soccer team took on University of Massachusetts (2-5-3) at Soldiers Field on Monday. The evenly-matched game resulted in a scoreless draw.

Coming off a victory against the University of Pennsylvania to open its Ivy League schedule, Harvard (7-3-1, 1-0-0 Ivy) entered the game looking to extend its winning streak to four games. The contest marked the end of a four-game road stretch for the Minutewomen that saw them record a tie followed by two straight losses heading into Monday’s tilt.

The Crimson side started off slightly weaker than the UMass side, perhaps because of a discrepancy in the amount of rest for both teams. Harvard had just two days to recover from its most recent match, while UMass had 11.

“I think [lack of rest] had a big effect on us, not to make any excuses. I think we were tired, but we still fought through it,” co-captain Marie Margolius said. “I thought our energy was great. It wasn’t for lack of effort, it’s just 90 minutes of soccer is hard, so playing a full 90 minutes on Saturday and then coming here today and playing 110 was definitely a challenge.”

After a relatively slow start in the first 45 minutes of the game, in which neither the Crimson nor the Minutewomen were able to convert opportunities into goals, both sides came out after halftime loud and energetic. Both had multiple chances and shots on goal, and Harvard managed more time of possession than in the previous half.

“We were feeling it,” Margolius said. “I think having the mindset of that toughness and mentality that we knew we had something to fight through was good for us. It lit a fire for us, which was good.”

The Crimson continued to dominate for most of the second period, creating multiple chances from right by the goal to 30 yards out. Sophomore forward Midge Purce and junior forward Emily Mosbacher led the team in shots but were consistently denied by the UMass goalie Cassidy Babin, who finished the game with six saves.

“I think that our choice of shots wasn’t the greatest today,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “The keeper did really well for UMass. I definitely credit her for a lot of that. But we know what we have to correct, and we should’ve got a little bit wider more often.”

All three goalies recorded a shutout on the night. Sophomore Lizzie Durack and senior Cheta Emba split halves in goal for Harvard, with Durack starting the game and Emba playing the second half and overtime.

Midfielder Julia Weithofer recorded four shots to lead UMass’s offensive campaign.

The netminders extended the Crimson’s shutout streak to four games, the longest for Harvard since 2007.

UMass seemed unable to match Harvard’s offensive firepower, playing more defensively for most of the game while orchestrating a few dangerous plays. Late in the game, freshman forward Gabriela Kenyon gave up a foul trying to generate an opportunity, receiving the second yellow card of the night for the Minutewomen. The first was picked up early in the first half by Daniela Alvarez.

With minutes left in regulation time, both sides played with high intensity, but neither managed to break the tie, sending the game into overtime. Despite a solid effort and decent chances for both teams, neither was able to break through for the golden goal, and the teams had to settle for a tie.

“I think it was intense the whole way. We were a little sluggish in the first half, but it was a strong, competitive performance from our team.” Leone said. “We didn’t play our best, but we competed all the way.”

With Ivy League play beginning in earnest on Saturday against Yale, Harvard seeks to build off Monday’s performance as it continues its league title defense.

“We won a lot of first and second balls, which was great,” Margolius said. “That was one of our goals going into the game. I think going into this week of practice we’re going to just do a lot of final third stuff, and make sure that come Saturday, we’re getting a lot of chances and being able to finish those chances.”