Vitt Maintains Role as Solid Backup

After a solid freshman campaign during which she served as a strong backup to junior Ali Boe in between the pipes, sophomore Emily Vitt has ended up in the same supportive role during her second year with the Crimson.

During her first season, Vitt registered a 8-0-0 record and an impressive .954 save percentage against the Crimson’s weakest opponents.

In the summer offseason, however, Vitt worked hard day in and day out to improve her skills in net in order compete for the starting job. She also looked impressive during the lead-up to the season and fed off the positive competition between herself and Boe.

“She’s closed the gap through the summer and worked real hard,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone at the beginning of the season. “We’ve got to figure out who the number one goalie is, or else we’ve got two number ones.”

Faced with the opportunity to vie for the starting role in net, Vitt came out to mixed reviews in her early starts. After being staked to a 2-1 lead late in a home showdown with non-conference foe Providence, Vitt surrendered the equalizer on a deep Karen Thatcher slapshot.

“The second goal was kind of a fluke,” Vitt explained. “It sort of squeezed through my arm and hit the far post and popped in.”

The game was only the Crimson’s third of the season and already things seemed a little shaky.

That weekend, Vitt suffered the first loss of her career when Yale’s Sarah Love outdueled her between the pipes to take away a 3-2 victory.

In that game against the Bulldogs, Vitt surrendered the game-winner halfway through the final frame while tying a career high with 28 saves on the night.

The defeat not only marked a milestone for Vitt, but was also Harvard’s first loss to the Bulldogs since 1984.

“We could have and should have won [that game],” said tri-captain and winger Corriero following the game. “But sometimes in [this] type of contest stuff just doesn’t go your way.”

Nevertheless, after that loss, Boe took the starting role and Vitt moved back into the position she had found herself the following year—as a dependable backup.

Against Union, Vitt registered 15 saves over two games to give Boe a rest against a weaker opponent.

The only goal Vitt gave up towards the end of the season was against Vermont on Feb. 26, when she stopped 19.

A few weeks earlier, Vitt played the entire game against the Catamounts when the Crimson saw them for the first time in the season. In that contest, she turned away 10 shots for the shutout.

As the season draws to a close, Vitt will finish with three shutouts—two against Union and one versus Vermont—and a 1.56 goals against average.

While Vitt’s statistics are higher than last year, she did find playing time earlier against tougher competition than she faced for the majority of last season.

In the future as she continues to develop and possibly become Harvard’s starting goalie down the line, the experience will no doubt be invaluable.

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Gabriel M. Velez can be reached at gmvelez@fas.harvard.edu.