Freshmen Four Spark Women's Soccer Early Season Success

These are not your normal freshmen.

Don’t let their normal Harvard college quirks fool you. They love to dance to “My Humps” in the locker room, act like Martha Stewart with potpourri galore in their dorm rooms, and they study for placement tests throughout a six-hour bus trip to NY.

Wait a second. Backtrack.

These are not your normal freshmen.

The four freshmen starters on the Harvard women’s soccer team—back Nicky Rhodes, forward Erin Wylie, and midfielders Rachael Lau and Allison Keeley—are extraordinary in more ways than one.

Look at the stats to get a clearer view. The Crimson is 5-2-1 (0-0-1 Ivy) this season. In route to this quick start, Harvard has scored five goals on the season—three of which have come at the feet of two freshmen, Wylie and Keeley.

“They’re one of the top classes I’ve ever coached,” head coach Stephanie Erickson said. “To be able to step in like they have is really impressive.”

This season is also Erickson’s first year at Harvard, becoming the Crimson head coach following coaching stints at Stanford and Northwestern.

While discussing her freshman starters, Erickson highlighted Allison Keeley’s game-winning goal in the 83rd minute against then-No. 20 Ohio State.

“Keeley plays the most demanding position on the field,” said Erickson. “For her to make that run that late in the game shows how much of a warrior she is.”

Keeley’s herculian effort provided the Crimson with its only win over a ranked team this season.

Wylie is tied for most goals for the team this season. Her second goal gave the team a 1-0 victory over Boston University a few games earlier. With each victory, Harvard gains more confidence in its pursuit of an Ivy League Championship.

“We want to get that big ring when we win the Ivy Championship,” said Wylie. “We need to stay undefeated in the Ivy League.”

For her part, Rhodes is an anchor of one of the premier defenses in the Ivy League. In eight games, the group—senior Sara Sedgwick, junior co-captain Laura Odorczyk, sophomore Michelle Hull, and Rhodes—has only allowed three goals.

“All four of us on defense compliment each other,” said Rhodes. “We made it a goal as a defense to have eleven shutouts this season.”

So far, with the help of their keeper, reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Katie Shields, they are right on track.

The talent of this stellar group of freshmen was not hidden to upperclassmen like Odorczyk.

“After playing with them from the beginning, I could tell that all of the freshmen could come and play a key role,” Odorczyk said. “We don’t think of them as freshmen. [It’s] eleven of us playing together. We know that the freshmen, like everyone out there, can all come up big for us in games.”

The team will be missing the final member of their “Fantastic Four”, as Lau will be out for at least a week with a sprained ankle suffered in last Saturday’s 0-0 tie against Penn. Her cannon of a left foot is integral to the team, as she takes all of the team’s corner kicks from that side.

Although she will be relegated to the sideline, Lau’s dedication does not end when she steps off the field. According to Wylie, Lau studied for her placement exams on a six-hour bus ride to a tournament in New York. Her work does not stop, whether she’s grinding it out at midfield or at Lamont Library.

So what is next for these freshmen? Rhodes envisions the freshmen unit continuing to grow stronger each year.

“Our focused mentality and the way we are so close will set the tone to keep the team united [in the future],” Rhodes said.

The chemistry, unity, and talent this freshmen group possesses is not normal; it’s fantastic.