Women's Soccer Shuts Out Dartmouth To Retain Undefeated Ivy Record

The Harvard women’s soccer team has not lost in ten games, and its consistency has been rewarded with a new place at the top of the Ivy League table with just one game left to play.

On Saturday at Burnham field, the Crimson (9-3-3, 4-0-2 Ivy) shut out last-place Dartmouth, 2-0, behind goals from senior forwards Rachel Garcia and Midge Purce, along with senior goalkeeper Lizzie Durack’s second straight shutout, to gain another three points in the standings.

The Big Green (6-6-2, 0-4-2) got several attempts on goal off in the early parts of both halves, but Harvard’s defense was able to withstand the pressure.

“I don’t think we were able to find our rhythm early in the game, but I’m really proud of how the team managed to make little adjustments,” Harvard coach Chris Hamblin said. “We just got better as the game went on.”

Garcia struck first with her fifth goal of the season off of a well-placed corner kick by sophomore Leah Mohammadi in the 37th minute. Garcia, second on the team with fourteen points, continued her offensive production in the second half with an assist to Purce in the middle third that opened up a path to the goal.

With four defenders converging, Purce ran through the entirety of the Big Green defense in the 63rd minute and fired her eleventh goal of the season into the top left corner to extend the lead to 2-0.

“Midge’s second goal was a great goal—really great goal, both collectively and individually,” Hamblin said. “It gave us that separation that we were able to hang on to in the end.”

The star forward gave credit to the fundamental soccer that the team played whilst holding onto a 1-0 lead.

“I believe it was built up from the back,” Purce said. “It was composure all around, so I think for all of us to settle it down, play on the ground, get back to playing good soccer—it was really good to score a goal off of that.”

The highlight-reel goal was Purce’s 41st of her career and her 26th point of the season.

It also played a huge role in turning the momentum around in the midst of Dartmouth’s early second-half surge. Being scored on, after having a few solid attempts on goal, perhaps deflated the Big Green sideline.

“We have a lot of faith in each other, no matter how the game’s going,” Purce said. “Everyone just kind of put their head down, and they were like, let’s relax, and let’s play good soccer like we know how to.”

The star of the game very well might have been the staunch Crimson defense. Durack made two saves, both of which came in the early goings of each half, and tallied her fifth shutout of the season.

“Our defending was great, and I think that’s been a big part of our mentality,” Hamblin said. “[Dartmouth] did have some chances—but I think we limited them to mainly chances on set pieces. I’m really pleased with the way we’ve been able to keep teams off the board, which always gives us a chance.”

The effectiveness of the back line—led by senior co-captain Bailey Gary and junior defender Candy Janachowski—has been nothing new for Harvard.

“When we came into preseason, one of the themes we had was defending; it was going to be a focus for us this year,” Hamblin said. “We’ve played three at the back most of the season, and left ourselves to be exposed, but the individual defending across the field, from our forwards, midfielders, and our backs, has been first-class. I think that showed again today.”

With the solid-all around effort, the Crimson remains undefeated within the conference, racking up 14 points in six games, and is now 7-0-3 in its last ten games. The Big Green, meanwhile, remains winless in Ivy play and remains at the bottom of the table with two points.

Combined with Columbia’s loss to Yale on Saturday, Harvard takes over the top of the table by one point. The Crimson controls its own destiny when it takes on the second place Lions at home next weekend—a win or draw guarantees an Ivy League title for the Harvard squad.

—Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bhu01@college.harvard.edu.