FEMALE BREAKOUT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Junior Makes Mark In Harvard Midfield

The most important part of Christina Hagner’s offseason didn’t take place in a training facility or on a soccer field. It was all inside her head. But boy, did it show on the field.

One of two players to start all 18 games for the Crimson, Hagner led the team with seven goals, good for fifth in the Ivy League, and was third on the team with 15 points.

“She was absolutely amazing,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “It happens to every player at different times, and fortunately for us, it happened to her going into her junior year.”

But to fully understand how she made her great leap forward, one must first look backwards.

Hagner arrived in Cambridge in 2006 as a highly-touted recruit, and by no means was she a bust in her first two seasons.

She started every game as a rookie, scoring once and turning in three assists. She made 15 appearances her sophomore season, starting eight, and matched her previous assist total.

But there was still something missing. Here was a two-time high school All-American, named by Soccer Buzz as one of the top-100 recruits in the nation, who had simply not yet realized her full potential in college.

This year, she finally figured it out.

“In the past few seasons I had been a little disappointed,” Hagner said. “I used to have this problem freshman year where I’d pass the ball instead of shooting, and my coaches hated it. You’ve got to have a nose for the net, they say—not being afraid to take risks…having the confidence you can beat your defender and go to the goal.”

And that is exactly what she did, catching fire as the month of October began. Hagner kicked off her scoring spree with a goal in a 3-1 victory over Yale Oct. 4, and she notched another goal and an assist in Harvard’s win over Cornell a week later.

She would then make it three scores in three games in a victory over Maine, and the ball kept rolling. Hagner came up with the game-winning goal early in the first half at Brown later that week to earn her second Ivy League honor roll of the season.

Her goal-scoring rampage reached five games in a row after she found the net with a header in the 61st minute in a win at Holy Cross Oct. 20. Though the streak ended there, Hagner continued to come up huge in the clutch.

With fellow standout forward sophomore Katherine Sheeleigh sidelined by an injury most of the Nov. 8 regular season finale against Columbia, Hagner picked up the load and scored on a one-timer in the team’s title-clinching victory.

“She always had the talent,” Leone said. “She would always be in that position, but this time, she would take the opportunity. She created some opportunities totally on her own, and when her teammates created opportunities for her, she was ready to finish.”

Her importance to the team’s success this year is undeniable. It’s no coincidence that during the Crimson’s eight-game undefeated streak following its disappointing Ivy-opener loss to Penn, Hagner had 13 points. And in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against Northeastern Nov. 14, she knocked in a goal, too.

Hagner, Sheeleigh, and reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Melanie Baskind form a three-pronged offensive attack that is downright frightening for opposing defenses to handle.

“I play with two of the best forwards in the league,” Hagner said. “They were both Rookies of the Year. They are so awesome to play with, and I’m just so excited to be able to play with them again.”

Hagner’s personal style of play is marked by efficiency. Her seven goals came on only 34 shots, representing a team-leading .206 shooting percentage.

Although she was pleased with her junior campaign, Hagner still has a lot to prove—she “really should have made All-Ivy,” Leone said. And the ultimate objective, of course, will remain the same as always.

“Our goal is to win the championship again, which would be a dream come true for us,” Hagner said.

Harvard’s best shot at doing so will hinge on her newfound willingness to take the shot.

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.