BRIEF: Women's Soccer Welcomes Ranked Princeton for Alumni Weekend

The Harvard women’s soccer team welcomes perhaps its most difficult opponent of the season on Saturday, when No. 17 Princeton arrives in Cambridge looking to avenge last year’s home loss.

In a reverse of last season’s circumstances, the Crimson (7-7-0, 1-3-0 Ivy) enters the matchup after an up-and-down start to its conference slate while the Tigers (11-2-0, 3-1-0) have suffered just two losses in 13 contests. With just three games left in the season, Harvard will be looking for a signature victory against Princeton as it seeks to end the season on a high note.

The history is certainly there for this clash, as Harvard and Princeton have combined to claim the last five Ivy League championships—the Crimson in 2013, 2014, and 2016, and the Tigers in 2012 and 2015. Though Columbia currently leads the conference with 12 points after four games, Princeton is in the mix again with 9. A Harvard win would likely end the Tigers’ push to extend their collective streak to six years.

“We need to be efficient and critical in those key moments,” said Crimson coach Chris Hamblin. “That’s going to be important for us to be successful.”

To end Princeton’s title chances, Harvard will need to contain standout Tigers sophomore forward Abby Givens, who has scored nine goals over the course of the season and leads the team with 22 points. Classmate and fellow forward Courtney O’Brien is not far behind with seven goals.

“We obviously have to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and put ourselves in the situation where we can figure out the best ways to maximize our ability to get at those weaknesses,” said Hamblin.

Despite the Tigers’ impressive record entering the game, they were shut out by current conference leader Columbia at home last weekend in a 2-0 loss.

Meanwhile, for the Crimson, junior midfielder Leah Mohammadi will play an integral role in the offense as usual as she looks to add to her four goals and three assists so far this season. Freshman standout Murphy Agnew, who leads the team with seven assists, will also be looking to add the one assist that will put her at the top of the conference stat board.

Elsewhere, senior midfielder Dani Stollar and sophomore defender Kimaya Cole will look to contain Princeton’s potent attack. But as Hamblin insists, the success this weekend will not be dependent on a few players, but rather on the performance of the team as a whole.

“It’s going to be a collective team effort…everyone needs to play their role,” said Coach Hamblin. “It’s going to be necessary that we attack this game as a group and put our best feet forward as a group.”

This weekend’s contest also marks the 40th anniversary celebration of the squad, a get together in which decades of alumni of the Harvard women’s soccer program will come together to cheer on current players.

“There is a lot to be proud of in the history of the program,” said Hamblin. “The networking, the family, the support, and the love the alumni have is incredible.”