Harvard Falls to Siena in Nonconference Play

After a disappointing weekend in which the Harvard women’s soccer team picked up its second Ivy League loss of the season, the Crimson looked to get back on track yesterday afternoon in a nonconference matchup with Siena.

And in the early going, it looked like Harvard was on the road to recovery, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead.

But after a strong showing from the Crimson (5-6-1, 2-2 Ivy) throughout the first half, the Saints (13-2, 4-2 MAAC) took control of the contest in the second, netting the equalizer to send the game to overtime, and then scoring the golden goal in extra time to pull out the 2-1 victory at Siena Field.

“It was definitely disappointing,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “We started out really well and then we just didn’t capitalize on our chances…It comes back to bite you.”

It did not take long for the Saints to send the Crimson packing once the overtime began, as Saint Ashleigh Barone found the back of the net just five minutes into the extra period to seal the come-from-behind win.

Siena’s Sara Mikula set Barone up for the game-winner, taking the ball down the right sideline and then passing it ahead to Barone who finished with the score.

While the contest ended in disappointing fashion, Harvard looked to be in control in the early going.

Co-captain Katherine Sheeleigh spearheaded the Crimson offense from the opening whistle, taking Harvard’s first three shots. While Sheeleigh’s first two tries were denied, her third attempt found its mark.

In just the fourth minute of play, Sheeleigh recovered the ball in front of the Siena cage off a misplayed goal kick and then booted it past Saint goalie Laura Ettinger to give her team the 1-0 edge.

“She knew that the goalie was left footed so she chased the goalie down,” sophomore Aisha Price said. “The ball hit her foot and she was able to basically tap it into the goal.”

With the score, Sheeleigh moved into a tie for fifth place on the Crimson’s all-time scoring list with 28 career goals.

“[Sheeleigh] did really well,” Leone said. “She took some good shots. We’ve kind of been over passing [inside the box] but she is taking chances.”

While the forward’s goal gave Harvard the lead, it was the Crimson’s defense that anchored the squad in the first period, limiting Siena—which entered the contest averaging 2.36 goals per game—to just one shot on goal over the first 45 minutes of play.

But the Saints were not denied for much longer.

Five minutes into the second period, Saint Caitlin Cahalan was fouled inside the box and awarded a penalty kick. Cahalan made the most of her opportunity, getting the ball past Harvard keeper AJ Millet to knot the score at 1-1.

The Crimson had a number of chances to regain the lead throughout the remainder of second period, but was unable to capitalize on its opportunities.

Less than six minutes after Siena evened the score, Sheeleigh responded with two shots, but neither try was able to get past Saint keeper Elizabeth Barna, who replaced Ettinger in goal at halftime.

In the 60th minute, junior Melanie Baskind had another chance to give Harvard the lead when she was awarded a penalty kick after Siena was whistled for a handball.

But Barna denied Baskind’s attempt.

After neither team attempted a shot on goal over the next 27 minutes of play, the Crimson had one last scoring opportunity in the final minutes of regulation.

With just 3:08 left in regulation, Harvard freshman Elizabeth Weisman fired a shot at goal, but Barna managed to knock it away with a diving save, sending the contest into overtime.

The Crimson had one chance early in the extra period, earning a corner kick in the 94th minute. But Harvard was unable to get a shot off, and Siena answered with the game-winning score less than a minute later.

“It basically came down to today they played better,” Price said. “I think that it was a heartbreaking loss but we’re just going to try to keep working and pull out a win this weekend.”

—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.