Women's Soccer Defeats Princeton, 4-0

On a frigid Saturday evening at Soldiers Field Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium, not even the chill could cool off Harvard freshman duo Midge Purce and Joan Fleischman.

While it was expected that Purce, who leads the Ivy League with 4.36 shots per game, would be an offensive factor, Fleischman’s performance was less predictable. The offensive outburst tripled her goal output for the season. Both forwards scored two goals as the Crimson cruised to a 4-0 win over Princeton.

“We knew what [the Tigers’] weaknesses were going in and took advantage of them,” Fleischman said. “We didn’t really change anything—we had to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities they gave us.”

Although Princeton (5-5-4, 0-4-1 Ivy) had the advantage in time of possession early on, the Crimson (9-3-2, 5-0) struck first by capitalizing on a costly Tiger defensive mistake.

Taking advantage of the Princeton defense failing to clear the ball away from the box, Fleischman took control of a loose ball and snuck it past the reach of goalie Cecilia Di Caprio to put Harvard up in the eighth minute.

Though both Harvard and the Tigers took 10 shots, none of Princeton’s forwards could find the back of the net, largely thanks to the work put in by Harvard’s goalkeepers.

The Crimson defense stayed with the opposing forwards all evening, and the goalie tandem of junior Cheta Emba and freshman Lizzie Durack combined for nine saves to preserve Harvard’s fifth shutout of the year.

“Our [defenders] are hard workers,” Purce said. “They’re solid and consistent. Never am I afraid of anything in our game—when we go down a goal, I know that we’re going to stay strong and our heads are up.”

Led by co-captain midfielder/defender Peyton Johnson, who actively harassed Princeton forwards all evening, the defense has not let the team go down often in the past 10 games, allowing just six goals over that span.

But this one was no cakewalk for the Crimson defenders.

Following the early goal, the Tiger forwards put continual pressure on the Harvard defense.

They would have knotted up the score in the 13th minute on a breakaway shot from inside the box if not for an athletic save by Emba, who came out of the box at the right moment to knock the shot away.

In an eight minute span, Princeton got off three shots on goal, but each time Emba turned them away.

Both teams turned up the physicality and defensive pressure with the break looming. Princeton was called for five of its 12 total fouls in the last 10 minutes of the half.

In the 35th minute, it seemed as if forward Purce would extend the Crimson lead after she successfully chipped a high-bouncing ball over the Princeton goalie.

But Tiger defender Diane Metcalf-Leggette sprinted into the empty goalie box and bicycle-kicked the ball out of harm’s way to keep Princeton within striking distance.

However, Harvard would not be stopped a second time and soon put the game out of reach.

After a well-placed free kick by freshman forward Karly Zlatic from just outside the box in the 43rd minute, the Tigers blocked the Crimson’s first shot out of the scuffle for the ball. But Fleischman was positioned perfectly to knock in the rebound for her second goal of the contest.

After being denied what looked to be a sure goal 10 minutes before, Purce took matters into her own hands.

Positioned for a free kick a full 48 yards from goal with five ticks left in the half, Purce launched a shot that sailed over the outstretched hands of a leaping Di Caprio to put Harvard up, 3-0.

“[The shot] was insane and it really picked us up going into halftime,” Fleischman said. “It helped us come out stronger in the second half.”

The Princeton defense turned up the pressure following the break, double and triple-teaming Purce whenever she touched the ball.

But even with the extra coverage, Purce was able to come through for her second goal, with help from her teammates in the midfield.

Taking control of the ball in the 86th minute, she dribbled past three Tiger defenders and beat the keeper with a grass-cutting shot that just slipped by, icing the 4-0 victory.

“You don’t see how much a lot of my teammates do, you usually only see the goals,” Purce said. “They fight through the entire game and so when we score a goal it’s such a team effort.”

With the squad now 9-0-2 in its current unbeaten streak, the Crimson can clinch the Ivy League title with a win over either Dartmouth or Columbia in its final two conference match-ups.

Victories over both the Big Green and the Lions in the final two weeks of the season would give Harvard its first undefeated season in conference play since 1999.