W. Soccer Slams No. 17 Marquette

Freshman defender Liza Barber’s first collegiate goal made for a dramatic finish in the Harvard women’s soccer team’s 2-1 double-overtime victory over No. 17 Marquette (8-2) on Friday at Ohiri Field.

Harvard (5-1, 2-0 Ivy) won its fifth game in a row while snapping Marquette’s eight-game winning streak.

“It’s huge,” said Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton. “We’ve beaten two nationally ranked teams in a week, and there is no doubt in our minds about our team. We feel like we are in the top 20.”

Harvard defeated No. 23 UMass 2-0 last Tuesday. This game was the first meeting ever between Marquette and Harvard.

After Marquette midfielder Kristen Jensen ended a 446:33 scoreless streak for the Crimson’s defense, Harvard regrouped to pull out the victory. On an offensive attack in the second overtime, Westfall’s touch was pushed over the line by the Golden Eagles, awarding the Crimson the deciding corner play.

The inbound kick was taken by junior midfielder Orly Ripmaster, who now has four assists on the season. She directed the ball across the goal cage into a crowd of players where Barber was waiting.

“In practice, Tim always says to call the ball—Liza’s ball—and I did,” Barber said. “It was a great ball from Orly.”

Barber was able to head the ball hard towards the Marquette goalie. Her shot bounced off of Koenig and dribbled in front of a defender who was unable to clear the ball before it crossed the line deciding the game with 10:39 left in the second overtime.

“We worked together,” said Barber. “We knew we could win, and we worked through the rough spots.”

This game was Harvard’s second double-overtime contest in three games.

“We have confidence in ourselves,” Wheaton said. “Overtime is ours. We’ve trained really hard to be fit enough to go into overtime.”

Barber’s goal came off a corner kick in the 110th minute of a game that saw momentum swing back and forth between the two teams.

The game started with the Crimson in control. Harvard began the scoring in the 29th minute when junior forward Joey Yenne took a cross from Ivy League Player of the Week, junior forward Beth Totman. Yenne one-touched the ball past her defender and scored with a shot into the left corner of the net for her third goal of the season.

The Crimson dominated the offensive totals, taking 20 shots to Marquette’s nine. Junior goalie Cheryl Gunther finished with five saves while her Marquette counterpart, junior Ashleigh Koening, stopped nine shots.

Playing aggressively in the first half, the Harvard defense denied the Marquette forwards, shutting down several fast breaks.

“We weren’t intimidated by their national standing,” said sophomore midfielder Katie Westfall. “We realized that they were coming onto our field, and we pulled together. In practice we prepared for their formations, and it paid off.”

The start of the second half caught the Crimson back on their heels. Coming out flat from the break, the Crimson lost its aggressiveness and reacted slowly to the ball.

The Golden Eagles began to put pressure on the goal, and Harvard’s defense was lucky to avert several close calls cleared right in front of the line. The Crimson also benefitted from some inaccurate shots by Marquette early in the second half.

But the string of shutouts for Harvard’s defense was broken in the 67th minute. Fouled in the box by sophomore defender Caitlin Fisher, Jensen was awarded the penalty kick. She faked right and beat Gunther with a hard drive to the bottom left of the net to tie the score at 1-1.

The goal was the first the Crimson has allowed since its opening 5-4 loss to Colorado State.

“We’ve worked hard to sort out the defense,” Wheaton said. “The only goal we’ve allowed in the past five games has been on a penalty shot. We knew that we were going to fight battles, and that’s why we play.”

Barber, who has started every game for the Crimson, has become a fixture in a young backfield. She played a crucial role during the scoreless streak and now has three points on the year.

This win against the Conference USA favorite Marquette was critical for a Harvard team looking to break back into the standings for the first time following the Colorado loss. Currently ranked third in the Northeast region, Harvard plays at BC on Wednesday at 3 p.m. for an important regional match-up.