Eagles Loom Large in Tourney Matchup

It may have clinched the outright Ivy League title last Saturday night, but the Harvard women’s soccer team is going into this weekend’s match as the underdog. The Crimson (9-6-1, 6-1 Ivy) will take on No. 7 Boston College (15-3-2, 7-3-1 ACC) tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Newton, Mass. in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The winner of the game will play either Boston University or Connecticut on Sunday.

“We’re obviously playing one of the best teams in the nation, and it’s going to be a monumental challenge for our team,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said, “but we’re looking forward to that.”

The tournament’s No. 2 seed in the region, the Eagles have proven to be a difficult opponent for the Crimson. They beat Harvard earlier this season, 4-1, and have won four out of the last five matchups between the teams. But the Crimson players are focusing on the stakes of tomorrow’s game, not the past.

“It’s great for us to go into this tournament as the underdog,” co-captain Lizzy Nichols said. “We have absolutely nothing to lose, and on the other hand, BC has a lot to lose.”

While it may not have much to lose, Harvard is going into the playoffs with the momentum of a strong regular-season finish. The Crimson claimed the Ancient Eight championship in a 2-1 overtime win over Columbia, boasted a 8-1 record in its final nine games, and put together a six-game win streak through the end of October.

After a rocky start to the year—Harvard had only one win in its first seven games—its recent success has been the direct result of a season-long process.

“We have just developed a lot as a team,” Nichols said. “We’re a little bit more mature at this point in the season, and we know our strengths just a little bit better.”

Harvard’s defensive prowess will certainly be tested against the Eagles’ powerful offensive play. Boston College accumulated an outstanding 50-10 advantage in goals on the season and reached the semifinals of the ACC Tournament last weekend.

“50 goals is enough for most teams in three seasons,” Leone said with a laugh. “They got it in one.”

21 of those goals have come thanks to a pair of sisters—senior Gina and freshman Victoria DiMartino—who both play forward for the Eagles. The siblings accounted for three of the team’s four goals against the Crimson this September.

The Boston College attack proved too much for Harvard to handle in the non-conference match, as the Eagles racked up a 26-4 shot advantage. Despite Crimson junior Katherine Sheeleigh scoring the first goal the Eagles had allowed all season and senior goaltender Lauren Mann making 12 saves, Harvard couldn’t come up with the win.

The Crimson is expecting a similarly tough performance from Boston College tomorrow.

“It’s definitely going to require a lot of very strong defense,” Nichols said. “Everybody will have to play a very important role, but team defense is something we’re definitely going to be focusing on.”

Leone agreed that Harvard’s defense will be crucial, but said that the team needs to focus on its own play in order to succeed.

“It’s just about when we have the ball, keeping it better,” Leone said. “[Boston College] is such a great attacking team that you don’t have the ball very much, so when you do have it, you try to keep it.”

Sheeleigh is Harvard’s leading scorer with eight goals, five assists, and 28 shots on goal. Sophomore Melanie Baskind comes in a close second with six assists and four goals, two of which came in last weekend’s victory over Columbia. The Crimson also has five more players with multiple goals on the season.

Harvard’s offense and defense will need to play at the top of their games in order to take down the Eagles, a team many recognize as one of the best in the country.

“I mean, they’ve only lost to two teams this whole season,” Leone said, “North Carolina and Florida State—top 10 teams in the nation, basically.”

But the Crimson players remain confident in spite of the hype.

“BC’s a great team, no doubt about it, “ Nichols said. “But they’re definitely a beatable one, and we’re going to do everything we can to stay in this tournament.”