Postseason Cut Short For Women's Soccer

With its hopes of advancing in the NCAA tournament on the line, the Harvard women’s soccer team held on for as long as it could. But in the end, the squad could only bend for so long before it broke.

The Crimson (12-4-2, 7-0 Ivy) saw its season come to an end on Saturday as No. 25 Boston University (15-3-4, 8-1-0 Patriot) came away with a 1-0 victory at Nickerson Field. The Terriers’ win ended Harvard’s 14th NCAA Tournament appearance.

“It was a hard fought battle between both teams,” junior defender Erika Garcia said. “I would say they brought it and so did we. It’s unfortunate that we lost.”

In the 76th minute, BU freshman forward Erica Kosienski received a pass from senior Kylie Strom high in the box and managed to control it and push it past freshman goalkeeper Lizzie Durack before colliding with the first-year keeper. The Harvard defenders could only watch as the ball dribbled past the goal line and into the back left corner of the net.

The Crimson made a late rush after Kosienski’s goal to try to extend its postseason appearance. Within a minute, sophomore defender Alika Keene received a corner and headed it towards the net, but BU goalkeeper Andrea Green managed to tip it over the goal. On the ensuing corner kick, the Terriers cleared the ball away before Harvard could put a shot on goal in what would be one of its last opportunities to send the contest into extra time.

The Terriers controlled possession for most of the game, tallying 11 shots on net compared to Harvard’s four. The Crimson recorded eight fouls in the tilt, but the hard-nosed defense helped keep the Terriers off the board in the first half.

“As a team, we did really well defending them,” Garcia said. “Collectively, it was us defending everywhere on the field, from the forwards to [defenders] that held them off for so long.”

Even when there were defensive lapses, junior goalkeeper Cheta Emba was able to bail the team out. In the sixth minute, Terrier junior forward Taylor Krebs managed to break past the defense, only to have her shot stopped on Emba’s diving save. Later, BU senior forward Madison Clemens also broke past the defense but was unable to get off a shot before Emba came out and pounced on the squirming ball.

“Cheta played really well for us,” co-captain Peyton Johnson said. “She made a few big plays for us that helped preserve the tie.”

Playing on its half of the field for the majority of the game, Harvard spent many of its possessions trying to play through balls over the top of the defense. But it was to no avail, as Harvard registered only one shot on goal in each half. Freshman Margaret Purce was able to find an opening in the Terriers’ defense in the 34th minute and put a strike on net, but the shot went right to the goalkeeper Green for an easy save.

Despite the lack of shots from the Crimson, the squad was still able to create scoring chances. A through ball sent to freshman Joan Fleischmann was played just a hair too far in front of her, and she was unable to corral the ball before the goalkeeper gained possession.

There was no shortage of scoring chances for the Terriers. BU had six corners on the day, four of which came in the fifteen minutes leading up to Kosienski’s goal. The game-winning goal was the culmination of the Terriers’ aggressive offensive attack.

The Crimson had not lost a match in over two months. After falling to New Hampshire on Sept. 11th, Harvard rolled off a 14-game unbeaten streak that the team carried into Saturday.

“We started off with three losses,” Garcia said. “From there on, we said that we were not going to let that happen again.”

The loss marks the end of one of the Crimson’s most successful campaigns in recent memory. Even with the playoff loss, this year’s squad compiled the best record the program has seen in the 21st century. The team also won every game in conference play, a feat that had not been accomplished in decades.

“Right now [our successful season] hasn’t really hit me because this loss is fresh in my mind,” Garcia said. “But when we look back, we are going to realize how special this team was.”