Women's Soccer Crushes CCSU, 6-0, in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Senior midfielder Laura Aguilar connected on a hard, low cross and immediately raised her arms in celebration. Aguilar knew she had just scored to give the Harvard women’s soccer team an insurmountable 6-0 lead over Central Connecticut State University and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001.

Aguilar, one of the Crimson’s seven seniors, had a lot to cheer about—a goal in her final appearance at Soldiers Field, a new goal-scoring record for an Ivy League team in the NCAA tournament, and the seniors’ first advancement to the second round of the tournament after two previous attempts.

“It meant so much to [our seniors],” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “I think when we played before, we were the less experienced team in the NCAA tournament. And this time, we finally had seven seniors that had been to three of them. I think they were more relaxed today and ready for the opportunity.”

The Crimson (11-4-2, 5-1-1 Ivy) dominated the Blue Devils (11-6-4, 4-2-2 Northeast) from the opening whistle.

Freshman midfielder Dani Stollar, recently named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, wasted no time giving Harvard an early advantage. On the team’s first drive of the game, Stollar faked out a CCSU defender and sent a laser-like shot into the upper left post.

Just 22 seconds into the game, the Crimson had a 1-0 lead.

“Sometimes really early goals can actually be a disadvantage because teams can get complacent,” co-captain Marie Margolius said. “But we all looked at each other and [said], ‘It’s 0-0. It didn’t even happen.’ We never took our foot off the pedal.”

Harvard continued to play with urgency throughout the first half. The team dominated possession in the Blue Devils’ territory. The duo of sophomore forward Midge Purce and co-captain Meg Casscells-Hamby continuously applied pressure down the right sideline, setting up a handful of scoring chances. After three missed shots on drives set up from the right side, the Crimson switched it up.

Junior forward Emily Mosbacher found space along the left sideline and dribbled toward goal. Unpressured by the CCSU defense, Mosbacher sent a sharp, low shot to the far right post to give Harvard a 2-0 lead.

“We had a lot of room to play and to really do our thing,” Purce said. “Everybody was kind of on the same page today. It was just a lot better movement and understanding of where everyone is.”

The Crimson scored on six of its 15 shots in the game. This .400 shooting percentage greatly outpaced Harvard’s average shooting percentage of .124 in its previous 17 games.

On the other end, the Crimson defense did not allow the Blue Devils to get any offensive rhythm. Strong communication and pressure from Harvard’s back line held CCSU to just five total shots in the game.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, Purce received a pass near the edge of the box and flicked it up to herself to maneuver past three Blue Devils. With an opening and the ball on her left foot, Purce fired a shot past the goalkeeper to put the Crimson up 3-0.

Five minutes into the second half, Purce again beat a handful of CCSU defenders for her second goal of the day and tenth of the season.

“We thought less about the tournament and more about the game,” Purce said. “So when you’re making a run, you’re not thinking about winning the whole game, you’re thinking about making the run, getting into the box, scoring the goal. It’s one at a time.”

Harvard maintained its focused, confident style of play throughout the second half. The Crimson continued to control possession and dictate the pace of the game. And it continued to build its lead.

Just three minutes after Purce’s second goal, Mosbacher added her second goal of the day with a header off a corner from junior midfielder Haley Washburn.

With a 5-0 advantage, Leone made a series of substitutions. Aguilar, one of those substitutions, tallied Harvard’s final goal in her fifth minute on the field.

“As a unit, we’re all playing really well together,” Purce said. “When we all play well together, it allows everyone to play well individually.”

—Staff writer Eileen Storey can be reached at eileen.storey@thecrimson.com.