W. Booters Tie Columbia, 2-2

History was made Saturday afternoon at Columbia's Baker Field.

The occasion, however, was not one that would make the Harvard women's soccer team take home "I Love New York" banners.

A 2-2 tie against an opponent isn't usually a momentous event, but when a perennially-weak team like Columbia earns its first-ever point off of you, then you know something strange had to happen.

The Crimson (0-0-1 overall 0-0-1 Ivy) had numerous chances to win the game, but the Lions (0-1-1, 0-0-1) survived the pressure and were able to improve its 0-8-0 career record against Harvard to 0-8-1.

"We were frustrated," Coach Tim Wheaton said. "We did some good things, but we didn't do enough capitalizing."

Frustrating indeed.

Harvard outshot Columbia 52-5 for the game, including a 30-1 advantage in the second half and the two overtime periods, but it never could break a 2-2 halftime tie.

The majority of the game was spent around the Lions' penalty area, but the Crimson was thwarted either by poor shot selection or the 25 saves of Lion goalkeeper Rachel Barnes.

In fact, Harvard's intense offensive pressure led to Columbia's two goals off counter attacks.

The Lions got on the board first with a goal at the 13:30 Mark when the Crimson defenders failed to communicate with each other on a penalty kick.

Columbia's second goal broke a 1-1 tie when Dana Cassara converted a breakaway past Harvard freshman goalie Dana Krein (2 saves) 34 minutes into the game.

"We were playing defense too casually," freshman Kristen Bowes said. "Their forwards were quick, and we didn't respect their speed enough."

The positive side for the Crimson was its ability to bounce back and the play of its freshmen, four of whom started (Krein, Jessica Henderson, Keren Gudeman and Emily Stauffer), and several other who came in as substitutes.

Harvard's two goals were scored by freshmen--Gudeman beat two Columbia defenders and then deposited the ball in the lions' net at the 27:03 mark to even the game at 1-1.

And Bowes ended the Lions' second lead on the kickoff following Cassara's tally.

Sophomore Rachel Chernikoff raced down the sideline and lofted a pass that Bowes redirected off the tip of her foot over Barnes and into the mesh 18 seconds after Columbia's score.

"We really dominated the game offensively," sophomore Cara James said. "But once we got our second goal, [Columbia] was happy to play for a tie."

As for the second half and over time, Columbia fell back into a defensive shell, keeping most players back on defense and generating next to no offense.

Trying to crack a defensive shell is about as exciting and frustrating for the Crimson as it is for anyone to listen to Donald Fehr talk about the future of baseball.

Harvard got its shots, but they were too often from bad angles, and the passing wasn't as crisp as the team would have liked.

"We were too satisfied to take any shot rather than getting quality shots," Wheaton said.

The good news for Harvard is that it has two weeks to prepare for its next Ivy League game (October 1 at home against Cornell).

Not that the team will be taking it easy--the Crimson will travel south to take on Davidson and national powerhouse Virginia next weekend, teams which should boost Harvard's level of play in the long run.

"We want to get better," Bowes said. "If everyone can come together, we should keep up with them."