W. Soccer squeaks into NCAA Tournament on at-large bid; Crimson to face UConn in first round

The Harvard women’s soccer team was chosen as an at-large selection for the 2004 NCAA Tournament yesterday, marking the 10th all-time tournament appearance for the Crimson.

Harvard (8-6-2, 4-3-0 Ivy) will travel to Storrs, Conn., on Friday to face off against the UConn Huskies (16-6-1, 8-2-0 Big East). UConn is making its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

It was the Huskies who eliminated the Crimson in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, which was the last time that Harvard participated in postseason play.

Friday’s game will mark the second meeting of the season between the teams. The Crimson took a 1-0 decision over UConn at Ohiri Field on Oct. 27.

The winner of Friday evening’s game will advance to Sunday’s second round, where it will battle the winner of the other first-round match taking place in Storrs, between Colgate and Arizona.

Harvard joins Princeton and Yale as the Ivy League representatives in the tournament.

The Tigers will take on Central Connecticut, while the Bulldogs face off against Villanova.

While Princeton won the Ivy League title and received an automatic bid, Yale and the Crimson did not find out whether or not they would be participating in the tournament until yesterday.

Harvard was selected as an at-large bid in a large part due to its quality wins during the regular season over the Bulldogs and over the Huskies—two of the top teams in the Northeast region.

The Crimson is 8-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

—THE CRIMSON STAFF