Harvard Offense Overwhelms Quinnipiac

Perseverance proved triumphant last night as the Harvard women’s soccer team grinded down Quinnipiac to win a late-night nail-biter, 1-0, in double-overtime.

After blasting its way back into Ivy League title contention with a 4-0 win over the weekend, the Crimson (7-6-1, 3-2-0 Ivy) hosted the Bobcats (5-7-3) last night in the final nonconference game of its season at Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium. Harvard hoped to use yesterday’s match as a tune-up before the final leg of the Ancient Eight season.

Despite coming off just two-days rest, the Crimson nonetheless displayed a high level of tenacity and efficiency on both sides of the ball.

The Harvard frontline totaled 31 shots—11 on goal—in addition to 14 corner kicks, while the backline held the Bobcats to only four shots throughout the game.

But even in the face of these glowing statistics, the Crimson proved unable to convert its numerous scoring opportunities into actual goals until sophomore midfielder Alexandra Conigliaro sealed the deal in the 101st minute.

“We just have to give Quinnipiac a lot of credit,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “They were really good at what they were trying to do, and we just had to be patient and not try to give the ball away at bad spots, which we did a few times in the first half.”

The Bobcats began the match with a shot only two minutes into play from Quinnipiac defender Kyla Miles, forcing sophomore goalkeeper AJ Millet to make an early save.

But this early attempt on goal proved to be the only meaningful scoring opportunity by the Bobcats throughout the game. Following this early and rare defensive slip-up, the Crimson backline was determined to keep any threats at bay, holding Quinnipiac to only three shots over the remainder of the contest.

With the defense solidified, the home team was enabled to dominate offensively, turning the game into a one-sided affair, which was predominantly played on the Bobcat side of the field.

“We started out slow,” sophomore defender Taryn Kurcz said. “At first we weren’t playing our game, we were playing into the game plan of Quinnipiac, but in the second half we started to play good soccer. We had our chances; we even scored one that was called offside.“

In the 84th minute of play, Harvard appeared to have finally taken the lead as Conigliaro deftly fired a close-range shot into the upper reaches of the net. But the goal was taken away after it was ruled that Conigliaro had received a pass from an offside Crimson striker.

The play proved to be one of many frustratingly close calls Harvard faced throughout much of the game, particularly in the second half.

Finally, after nearly 102 minutes of play, co-captain Katherine Sheeleigh broke away from the midfield in a run down the sideline. As she neared the Quinnipiac goal, Sheeleigh cut away from a Bobcat defender and fired a cross along the ground that inexplicably threaded its way through three other players before it found the feet of Conigliaro.

After one touch to settle the ball, Conigliaro blasted it beyond the diving Quinnipiac keeper to earn the dramatic golden-goal winner, just as rain began to fall on Soldiers Field.

Though the Crimson’s win last night will ultimately have little significance in the context of the Ivy League championship race, the team saw it as a good warm up for upcoming Ancient Eight play.

“The Ivies are a whole different thing,” Leone said. “Every game is its own thing, so right now it’s all about playing more games together, considering that we don’t play that many throughout the season anyways.”

As the Crimson prepares for its matchup against Dartmouth this coming Saturday, what remains clear is that Harvard, in the span of three short games, has kept itself in the hunt for the title.

“Obviously this win helps to strengthen our confidence,” Kurcz said. “It was good that we picked it up in the second half and also in overtime, but we have to make sure that we don’t do that against Dartmouth on Saturday. We have to win it in 90 minutes.”