Mann's Shutout Leads W. Soccer to Victory

Harvard (10-4-1, 3-2-0 Ivy) defeated Dartmouth (3-9-2, 1-3-1) for the first time this millennium by a score of 1-0 on Saturday.

The Crimson, which last beat the Big Green in 1999, took advantage of a first-half goal by co-captain Megan Merritt and a strong defensive performance from sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Mann to record its second consecutive Ivy win.

“Days like this are always exciting,” Merritt said. “You can never predict the outcome. The team really needed to bring the energy and heart, and I think we did.”

The defense keyed the Crimson’s victory, as the unit helped Mann record her ninth shutout of the season—two short of Harvard’s single-season record set by Katie Shields ’06.

Taking into account the difficult field conditions caused by the morning rains, the defensive performance was all the more impressive.

“Our back line is a dominant force on this team,” Merritt said. “They show up every game and have had an outstanding performance this season.”

The defense, anchored by sophomore Lizzy Nichols and junior Nicole Rhodes, stayed physical and tackled hard throughout the game.

Although Dartmouth fired 15 shots in the second half, Harvard’s back line maintained Harvard’s narrow lead.

“[Rhodes and Nichols] really held us together today,” coach Ray Leone said. “They were focused the entire game. More than usual, people were struggling, but they were hanging tough.”

Despite earning the victory, the Crimson lacked the offensive rhythm that it showed in last week’s four-goal effort against Princeton.

Harvard strung together solid sequences of play, but they came in spurts. Whether a result of the weather or not, momentum shifted very quickly over the course of the game.

“I think we could bring more intensity to games like this,” Mann said.

Slick and damp from a morning downpour, the field prevented either team from gaining the upper hand.

It was difficult to play quickly on the ground as passes and touches went astray.

As a result, both teams ended up resorting to the long ball.

“It’s tiring to play under these conditions two weeks in a row,” Leone said. “Running out there on that mud is more than running out there on a flat surface.”

Because of the conditions, Leone substituted liberally to keep fresh legs on the pitch. One of these substitutions, Merritt, made a huge impact in the 37th minute.

Less than a minute after coming into the game, a Dartmouth player tipped the ball to Merritt in the center of the box. Merritt then half-volleyed the loose ball into the bottom-left corner of the net for her third goal of the season.

The weather, which almost always has a detrimental effect on goalkeepers, had little effect on Harvard’s netminder.

Mann, who has an league-leading 69 saves on the season, made four saves en route to blanking the Big Green.

“[Dartmouth] was pressuring us a lot, and the defense did very well to keep the ball out,” Mann said. “I think I had to dive once.”

In addition to her nine shutouts, Mann has a .873 save percentage.

She will look to improve on her impressive numbers when Harvard faces Columbia in New York on Saturday.