W. Soccer Drops 2-1 OT Loss to Princeton

In spite of outplaying Princeton on paper, the Harvard women’s soccer team suffered a disappointing 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of the Tigers at Ohiri Field on Saturday afternoon.

Princeton freshman Esmerelda Negron scored the “Golden Goal” at the 101:01 mark in the first overtime period. The win puts the Tigers(10-1-1,4-0 Ivy) in great shape for an Ivy League title, while the Crimson(8-2-0,3-1 Ivy) slip into second place with three Ivy League games left on the schedule.

Despite the loss in what many were calling an “Ivy League Decider,” Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton is not looking past the possibility of another Ivy League title for the Crimson this season.

“The goals are the same,” Wheaton said after the game in reference to the outlook for the rest of the season. “Last year we beat them, and they won the Ivy Championship, so there’s still a lot left. I feel no different about the potential and the ability of this team. It was an unlucky day, but we’re the same team, and I have incredible confidence in what we’re going to do the rest of the year.”

Both teams came in riding a hot streak. Harvard had won its last eight games to earn a No. 10 ranking in the national polls while only allowing two goals during that stretch. The Tigers had also won three straight games and were ranked 21st in the National Polls. The Tigers’ only loss came at the hands of No. 2-ranked powerhouse UCLA.

The Crimson came out strong in the first half. After some sloppy play by both teams early, the Crimson calmed down and took control of the game. Junior forward Beth Totman created a few solid chances early, putting two shots just over the crossbar.

Junior midfielder Orly Ripmaster pushed an open header just over the crossbar in the 25th minute. The Crimson maintained the pressure with fluid passing through the midfield and tough play on the backline. The Tigers failed to mount any sort of attack as most of the action took place in the Crimson offensive end.

With the Tigers packed into the defensive end, the Crimson continued to move forward and create scoring opportunities. As the final seconds of the first half ticked off the clock freshman midfielder Alisha Moran found herself in alone on Tiger goalkeeper Catherine Glenn. Moran pushed the ball too far ahead of her, giving Glenn the chancee she needed to sprint off her line and cut down the angle. She made the tough save just before the buzzer sounded.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead early in the second half. Sophomore Lynn Ariss one-timed a volley through junior Crimson goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther’s legs off of a Linley Gober corner kick.

Princeton carried the play for the next 20 minutes before sinking back into the defensive mode that resembled its play in the first half. Sensing its opportuniy, the Crimson picked up its level of play and began creating more quality scoring chances.

Glenn made some key saves to keep the Crimson off the board, but she could do little to stop Joey Yenne’s equalizing goal, which came with under five minutes to play.

Yenne received the ball at midfield with only one defender to beat. She wasted no time taking the ball hard at the defender. Yenne faked a shot and cut right, leaving the Tiger defender in her tracks before unleashing a rocket from 18 yards out that grazed the inside of the right post on its way into the back of the Princeton goal.

After both teams failed to score inthe final four minutes of regulation, the teams prepared for two 15-minute sudden death overtime periods.

A restart from the left side of the offensive end gave Princeton a dangerous opportunity in the 11th minute of the first period. Tiger midfielder Liz Bell sent a cross into the box. Miscommunication between Gunther and her defenders allowed Negron to pounce on the cross and volley it past Gunther for the game-winner.

Even though the Crimson ended up on the low end of the score, Wheaton was pleased wiht his team’s effort.

“I thought we played really well,” Wheaton said. “A couple of mental errors led to a couple of goals, and that is what costs you at this level. Princeton is a very good team. I thought we kept our composure. We went behind for the first time this year and came back and kept fighting. We kept our confidence and got the goal to equlize. I am obviously incredibly disappointed with the result, but in terms of how the team played I thought we generated lots of chances. We were just a little unlucky.”

Standout freshman defender Liza Barber praised her team’s play after the game.

“We didn’t give up,” Barber said. “We let the two chances they had go in. We have to work on our set pieces a little. But other than that I thought that we dominated, especially when we played to feet and played our game. When we stopped playing our game, that’s when we had the breakdowns.”

Harvard dominated the statistical categories, outshooting the Tigers 21- 4 and holding a 13-4 corner kick advantage. The Crimson next travels to Connecticut to take on the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night. Three

of its last five games of the season will be against Ivy opponents.