Women's Soccer Picks Up First Victory of the Season Against Army

For her entire collegiate career, Harvard senior forward Midge Purce has been known as an offensive dynamo. After finishing each of her three seasons thus far as a top-5 goalscorer in the Ivy League, and proving her ability even as defenses have keyed in on her, Purce entered her final season with few clear weaknesses in her game.

Leave it to her competitive nature, and new Crimson head coach Chris Hamblin, however, to continue to push her – on the defensive side of the ball, of all things.

On Monday night against Army, Purce put her improved all-around skills on display in one quick sequence. She made a good defensive read to intercept a pass, used her speed to blaze towards goal, and finally slotted home past Black Knights senior goalkeeper Jordan Cassalia.

“One of the things we’ve been asking her [Purce] to do more, and holding her accountable for, is her defense,” Hamblin said. “She defended and pressed well today, as did our entire defense, and that obviously led to the goal but more importantly, gave us more chances with the ball.”

Purce’s strike proved to be the difference in the game, as Harvard (1-1) walked off Jordan Field with a 1-0 victory over Army (0-4). The Crimson finishes up its season-opening homestand against Central Connecticut State on Thursday, while the Black Knights continue to search for their first win of the season.

“Army came into the game 0-3, hungry for a win, and we knew they would be fighting every minute,” Hamblin said. “We should have put away more of our chances in the first half, but we didn’t convert and they kept fighting, which made for an interesting second half.”

After Purce’s goal, which came in just the 11th minute of the game, Harvard’s defense held tight. The offense controlled the flow of the game through the end of the first half, but after the intermission, Army put more and more pressure on the Crimson goal.

The Black Knights especially showed their initiative in the first ten minutes of the second half, keeping the ball in the Harvard side of the field for long stretches at a time. They could never find the right pass in the box, however, and managed just two shots in the second 45 minutes.

The Crimson’s experienced back-line showed its composure and comfort playing as a unit, denying opposing forwards many chances.

“It was great to see how we all have each other’s backs on the field,” said Harvard captain and defender Bailey Gary. “Allie goes up for a header, Becks covers her, Becks goes up for a header, we both cover her. So it’s a tight-knit group and I’m really happy to be playing with them.”

Also crucial was the Crimson improved wing play late in the game. Senior forward Joan Fleischman provided the width with her speed on the left side. Strong performances all-around in the wide areas of the field allowed the team to control possession in the last few stages of the game and run the clock out.

With less time on the ball, Army finished the game with just four total shots, while the Crimson had an impressive 15. Many of the 15 were off target, though, as Cassalia faced only three shots on goal, saving two.

Besides Purce and the defense, sophomore midfielder Zayne Matulis also had a strong game starting in place of junior midfielder Caroline Chagares. She kept possession well and barely missed a goal when she hit the post with a header late in the first half.

Freshman forward Maggie Basta also followed up her assist in the opening game last Friday with an inspired performance off the bench. She had a game-high four shots despite playing just over 40 minutes.

Altogether, it amounted to a first win of the 2016 campaign for Harvard.

–Staff writer George Hu can be reached at yianshenhu@college.harvard.edu.