Shields Sets Shutout Record in Romp

Records are made to be broken. But shattered­—that’s a different story.

Katie Shields, the women’s soccer team’s co-captain and goalie, did just that last night in Harvard’s (7-3-3, 1-1-2 Ivy) 3-0 rout of Holy Cross (3-12-0, 1-3 Patriot).

Recording 10 shutouts in a season and breaking the previous record of nine, held by Tracee Whitley ‘88 since her own record-breaking season of 1987, is a tremendous feat on its own. To do it in 13 games is simply unprecedented.

“[Shields] was solid today as she is game in, game out,” Crimson coach Stephanie Erickson said. “She’s a very special keeper with her abilities [but] also with how she leads the team.”

Always humble, Shields views the team she leads as the main reason for her success. She is a wall in the back, no doubt, but the team is what truly matters to Shields.

“I couldn’t get [the record] without the 11 in front of me,” said Shields, “It’s a team record, not mine.”

While the senior led the defensive domination of the game, two freshmen broke Harvard out of its recent offensive struggle. Freshman forward Erin Wylie netted two goals, giving her a team-leading five tallies for the season, while freshman forward Zoe Sarnack came off the bench to score her first goal of the season.

“[Not scoring] has been one of the most frustrating things,” Wylie said. “Coming off a game like this, we feel better—it gives us more confidence we can put the ball in the net.”

The Crimson came out firing from the start, with Wylie scoring in the 15th minute to put Harvard up 1-0. Freshman midfielder Rachael Lau put the ball in play with a throw-in, and Wylie did the rest. After dribbling away from her defender, Wylie blasted a shot from 30 yards out, netting the goal when the Crusader keeper misplayed the ball.

Wylie’s second goal came as the first half was ending. This time Lau fed the ball to Wylie in the box, and Wylie wove through defenders and slid the ball past an outstretched Holy Cross goalie.

The Crimson never looked back.

Dominating on both sides of the ball, Harvard was able to play its reserves, giving them valuable experience. Sarnack took advantage, scoring in the 82nd minute off a corner from Lau, giving Lau two assists on the day.

Stellar play from the freshman class is nothing new, with the team starting four first-years and receiving key play from reserves like Sarnack.

“Our freshmen class has been big-time [all year],” Erickson said.

With its freshman class scoring and its defense strong with Shields as its anchor, the Crimson is getting closer to its goal of an eventual NCAA tournament birth.

“Today was a must-win game if we’re going to make the NCAA tourney,” Shields said. “[It] was huge to get a 3-0 result against a team like this to [gain] confidence in our defense and offense for the end of the season.”

The Crusaders are a young team that has not performed as well as many of Harvard’s other opponents, but the Crimson took care of business, playing its game—most of the time.

“At this point in the season we know we need to play at a high level for all 90 minutes,” Erickson said. “Today we did a pretty good job of playing at the level we want to play at, but we still had some lapses.”

Harvard still has room to improve, especially with its tough schedule ahead. The Crimson plays its final three Ivy league games in the next few weeks, starting with Ivy powerhouse Princeton at Ohiri Field on Saturday at 2 p.m.

But yesterday’s game belonged to Shields. Her historic performance puts her among the nation’s elite goalies.

“[Now] any team in the country [knows] it is going to have problems scoring on us,” Erickson said.

Anyone who says otherwise—just check the record books.