Yale Impairs W. Soccer's Title Hopes

The Harvard women’s soccer team’s 3-2 defeat against Yale on Saturday was devastating not just because it wasted a two-goal second half Crimson comeback, but also because it dealt a serious blow to the team’s Ivy hopes.

To win the Ivy title, Harvard (6-5-1, 2-1-1 Ivy) must not only win out its last three league games, but also presently undefeated Princeton must draw with or lose to Cornell—the same Big Red team that the Crimson blew away 4-0 last week.

“We’ve lost a little bit of control,” said Harvard coach Tim Wheaton.

Yale (7-3-1, 2-2) scored the game-winning goal with under three minutes remaining in the match after the Crimson tied the game 2-2 in the 80th minute. Harvard trailed for most of the game before senior forwards Joey Yenne and Beth Totman scored back-to back goals within fifteen minutes of each other.

“I’m really proud of the team and that they didn’t give up,” Wheaton said.

The three Yale goals were an abrupt end to Harvard’s four-game shutout streak.

The Elis struck first in the 37th minute when freshman midfielder Laurel Karnes placed a perfect shot into the upper right corner from several yards out that stopped freshman goalkeeper Katie Shields cold.

The Elis added to their lead in the 53rd minute when top scorer Chandra King broke free from midfield and easily beat freshman goalkeeper Maya Agustsdottir.

But momentum swung abruptly in the 65th minute of play when Yenne snuck a shot from the 18 through the Yale defense into the left corner of the net.

But the tie was short-lived as the Crimson fell back on defense, and Yale senior defender Katherine Ling made Harvard pay for its struggles to clear the ball. It bounced among several different Yale and Harvard players before finding Ling, whose shot slipped under a sliding Agustsdottir.

“The goal just came off a breakdown, just a small breakdown [like the kind] that Yale kept scoring on,” said sophomore back Liza Barber.

Harvard controlled possession and was on the attack for the majority of the game. The Crimson outshot the Elis 19-6, but Yale punished Harvard for the first two goals with quick counterattacks while the Crimson’s midfielders were upfield.

Harvard had the first good scoring chance 10 minutes into the game when junior Katie Westfall sprung Yenne free in the box. Yenne’s shot was well-placed but Yale goalkeeper Lindsay Sabel made a kick save to keep the game scoreless.

“We had great chances, we just gotta finish them,” Wheaton said.

The loss dropped the Crimson to third-place behind No. 17 Princeton (12-0, 5-0) and No. 23 Dartmouth (8-3-1, 3-1). The Crimson will have to beat Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia (3-6-2, 0-2-2) to have any chance of Ivy title contention.

While Harvard’s Ivy title hopes resting on Cornell taking a point from Princeton might seem precarious, the Tigers did blow an outright chance at the Ivy title last season by losing to Yale in its season finale. That allowed Dartmouth and Penn to gain a share of the title through the back door. Harvard can only hope that history repeats itself.

Even if Harvard fails to defeat the Tigers, it can still qualify for the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid. The Crimson would be a sure bet if it wins out its last four games, which include the two ranked Ivy opponents and No. 10 Connecticut, the region’s top-ranked team. One loss would dim the Crimson’s hopes a bit, but three victories out of Princeton, Dartmouth, UConn and Columbia could still be enough for Harvard to make the tournament based on recent history. Anything worse than three more wins would make a tournament berth tough to come by.

A Crimson sweep of the last four opponents is not an unattainable goal. Though Saturday’s foe Princeton is the only unblemished team in Division I, the Tigers have played no ranked nonconference opponents, and the Crimson has a long history of beating Princeton, including eight straight wins prior to last season.

“We have the ability to win the rest of the season,” Wheaton said.