W. Soccer Wins Ivy Opener

The No. 17 Harvard women's soccer team began its defense of last season's Ivy League title on Saturday by dismissing the one team that nearly overtook the Crimson in last year's league race.

Down 1-0 late in the second half, Harvard rallied for two goals in the span of less than a minute to beat Penn, 2-1, at Rhodes Field in Philadelphia.

The Quakers (2-2, 0-1 Ivy) finished second to the Crimson (2-1, 1-0) in the Ivy League standings in 1999, their only defeat coming in a 2-1 overtime loss to Harvard.

"This was an extremely important win for us," sophomore forward Joey Yenne said. "This was our first real test in Ivy play, and Penn is one of the toughest teams we have to face to defend our league title."

The contest was marked by the return of Harvard goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther, the 1999 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, who missed the team's first two games with a knee injury.

After being cleared to play last Tuesday, Gunther received the starting nod from Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton on Saturday and made two stops to extend her regular-season unbeaten streak to 14 games.

"I knew Cheryl wasn't 100 percent, but she still played an unbelievable game," co-captain Lauren Corkery said. "She stopped a couple hard balls, and she is only going to improve as her knee gets better. I fell totally confident with her in net."

Gunther was helped significantly by the Crimson defense, which held Penn to ten shots. The Quakers did not earn so much as a single corner kick in the game.

The first half, though, was sluggish on both sides. At halftime, neither team was able to get on the board.

Finally, in the 58th minute, Penn broke the scoreless tie, as Kellianne Toland fed Heather Taylor for the game's opening score and her third goal of the season.

The Quakers remained on top until the 72nd minute, when Yenne knotted the game at one goal apiece with a shot from the 18-yard line that found the top right corner of the net. Yenne, who leads the team with four goals in three games, beat two Penn defenders on the play.

Harvard's second strike followed almost immediately afterwards, as senior midfielder Meredith Stewart booted the ball from thirty yards out to put the Crimson ahead. Junior forward Erin Aeschliman actually initiated the play by collecting the rebound off her own shot and delivering a pass to Stewart for the assist.

In earning the win, the Crimson overcame a very physical Quaker defense that registered 22 fouls. Harvard ended up outshooting Penn, 11-6, forcing Quakers goalkeeper Katherine Hart to make six saves.

Harvard's pressure on offense also earned the team nine corner kicks.

"We were dominating," Corkery said. "[Penn] worked extremely hard, but we were in control. Especially in the second half, we came out really strong. We were getting to balls a lot quicker, and I think Penn was a little surprised."

Harvard is now in a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League, a position it occupied for all of last year.

"Above all, we want to win the Ivy League because that will give us a spot in the NCAA tournament," Corkery said. "And I think it shows what a great team we are that we were able to come back from being down on Saturday."

Harvard next faces No. 10 Hartford, which beat Yale 5-0 last week. The Crimson tied the Hawks 2-2 last season.

Harvard's next Ivy match comes against Brown on Saturday. The Bears have yet to play their first league game.

Notes

Sophomore back Katie Urbanic was not available for the second straight game because of a back strain. She is the fourth Crimson sophomore to miss time this season because of an injury. Her status is day-to-day.

Stewart's game-winning tally was actually her second in as many seasons. In 1999, she scored the deciding goal in Harvard's 2-1 overtime victory over Princeton.

With Saturday's loss, Penn saw its nine-game home winning streak come to an end. The Quakers had not lost a contest at Rhodes Field since October 31, 1998, when they dropped a 2-0 decision to Yale.