NOTEBOOK: Wildcats Stymie Harvard Offense

In a minute’s time, New Hampshire knocked two goals in against the Crimson less than six minutes into the contest. Despite generating almost no offensive pressure the rest of the match, the Wildcats were able to hold off a Harvard rally to win, 2-1.

The loss marked the Crimson’s first in the past eight matchups against the Wildcats. The contest also opened Harvard’s season at home, with the Crimson facing two more opponents at Soldiers Field later this week.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

While New Hampshire squeezed out the win by a goal, Harvard’s shots outnumbered those of the Wildcats, 21-2. The Crimson failed to execute in front of goal throughout the match, particularly in the first period that sent the Harvard squad into halftime down, 2-0.

Two prominent missed opportunities on goal both occurred in the 37th minute of the first half, the first of which came from co-captain midfielder Peyton Johnson, who rocketed a penalty kick in the middle left region of the net, where New Hampshire goalkeeper Mimi Borkan quickly moved to deflect the ball out of bounds.

Seconds later, the Crimson earned a chance from a throw-in from the left wing, as junior defender Marie Margolius received the ball and shot low and hard. Again, Borkan swiftly slid to the ball to regain possession for the Wildcats.

The Harvard offense often strung together quick passes to keep the ball moving, but the final shot or cross did not connect.

In the final minutes of the first period, freshman forward Midge Purce stole the ball at midfield and dished it out to junior midfielder Meg Casscells-Hamby, who was called offside. Several corner kicks and crosses slid through the 18-yard box without contact, and at other times the Crimson failed to come up on the right side of a bobbling ball. With less than a minute left on the clock for the final frame, Harvard and New Hampshire players struggled for possession in the Crimson’s offensive third, with the ball ultimately ending up on the left sideline for a Wildcats throw-in.

“No one likes to lose,” Purse said. “Our team is extremely competitive, and that’s how it is in the Ivy League, and that’s how our team is, so everyone is more than a little upset right now. We know we can play a lot better than we did, and we have a lot of talent on our team.”

FRESHMEN FOOTWORK

Several freshmen took the field for the home opener, including Harvard’s lone scorer for the night, Purce. The forward displayed her talented footwork, in one play chipping the ball over her defender’s head to advance towards goal. Halfway through the second half, Purce hit a hard shot into the goalie’s hands while she was still in the air. Several times, the freshman juked out several defenders before dishing it out to a teammate or taking a shot herself. Altogether, Purce registered five shots for the match.

Her goal came in the sixth minute after halftime, as she netted a deflection off of a shot by teammate Casscells-Hamby.

Other freshmen standouts included forward Karly Zlatic and defender Bailey Gary. Zlatic registered three shots on goal and proved invaluable on the left wing. Gary was strong on the right side on defense and tallied two shots, one of which was on goal.

SECOND HALF SURGE

The Crimson came out after halftime with a new energy, scoring a goal within six minutes. Compared to only eight shots in the first frame, Harvard notched 13 shots and held the New Hampshire offense out of the Crimson defensive third for the majority of the latter 45 minutes. Harvard was able to capitalize off of the Wildcats’ frustration and draw a total of 13 fouls by the end of the contest.

Rarely leaving its offensive half, the Crimson offense fired shots whenever it could during the second frame. Heading into the 70th minute, freshmen Purce and Zlatic fought to snag another goal for Harvard, registering a combined three shots in less than a minute.

Even in the final eight seconds of the game, the Crimson kept fighting. Junior goalkeeper Cheta Emba came up past midfield to help out on offense as junior forward Erika Garcia chipped it in to Bailey, who shot the ball into the keeper’s arms.

Harvard will have to shake off the loss as they head into the weekend, playing Providence and LIU Brooklyn on Friday and Sunday.

—Staff writer Kelley Guinn McArtor can be reached at kelley.mcartor@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @KGMCrimson.