Women’s Soccer Draws with Pepperdine, Still Undefeated on Season

The undefeated Harvard women’s soccer team (3-0-2, 0-0 Ivy) returned home to Jordan Field on Sunday afternoon to battle against a familiar matchup in No. 20 Pepperdine. After a competitive bout in which each team found the net late in the game, the Crimson battled the Waves to a 1-1 tie.

Coming into the matchup, the Waves were flying high, after their notable win against No. 3 ranked UCLA on September 1. On paper, the Crimson was the underdog, but it was motivated by the opportunity to knock off a top-25 team and, hopefully, notch its fourth victory in five games to start the 2024-25 season.

“Heading into the Pepperdine game I was confident in the performance this team was going to put out, based on how much we’ve grown throughout the season so far,” senior defender Jade Rose. “We have a relatively young team this year, so every game is a chance for us to mature as a team and as individuals to prepare us for Ivy play.”

The matchup began with an early push from Pepperdine. The Waves had no intention of keeping the ball in the backfield, constantly seeking to push the ball forward to score early. This push forced junior goalie Rhiannon Stewart to proactively defend the net, as Pepperdine attempted its first shot on goal just a few minutes into play. Stewart was up for the task, as she grabbed her first save of the afternoon. Despite her quick thinking, Pepperdine maintained the advantage as it quickly attempted two corner kicks and fired another shot on goal, all within the first ten minutes of play. Stewart held her ground once again, saving another shot for the Crimson.

“It was a frustrating start for us against Pepperdine, with them having a lot of success exploiting us on the counter attack and from the wing,” Stewart said. “I think once we were able to solve some of our ball retention problems higher on the pitch we were better protected from the counter attacks and the back line did a good job of minimizing chances on goal in the second half.”

After seeing the efforts once again made by its goalie, Harvard returned with a counter of its own against the Waves. The Crimson’s first shot on goal came from junior defender August Hunter, off a crafty feed from sophomore forward Jasmine Leshnick. Unfortunately, the ball went straight into the hands of the Pepperdine keeper. The next 10 minutes of play proved to be back and forth, as both Harvard and Pepperdine would tag team shots on goal. Both goalkeepers remained strong in their play, refusing to concede any goals. In fact, Stewart tied her career high in saves after only 18 minutes of gameplay.

On the offensive end, both sophomore forward Anna Rayhill and junior forward Audrey Francois attempted shots, but neither player could find the back of the net. Sophomore midfielder Anya Van Den Einde, sophomore forward Susie Long, and Leshnick were unable to succeed in their follow-on efforts to generate pressure on goal, joining Rayhill and Francois in being stalled by the lock-down Waves defense. Both teams were sent into the locker room at the half-way mark tied 0-0.

Both teams took to the field in the second half with a renewed sense of urgency. But as the second half began, it was Harvard that began with a stronger surge, as the squad made it a point to gain control quickly over the Waves.

The Crimson’s defense picked up where it left off in the first half, maintaining its shutout mentality, which allowed the offense to find an early rhythm and create more scoring opportunities. In the opening 20 minutes of the half, Rayhill made a skillful cross to senior Josefine Hasbo for Harvard’s closest shot on goal of the game, but Hasbo could not quite convert. Senior forward Nicola Golen and sophomore midfielder Írena Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez also added shots on goal in the early minutes of the second half. With 15 minutes left, however, the score was still 0-0.

Finally, at the 77 minute mark, the narrative of the game changed entirely. No longer was the Crimson the underdog, it was the aggressor. Francois flipped the script, as she chased down a through ball into the midfield, attempting to gain the upper hand on her defender and make a shot on goal. Upon her entry into the box, Francois drew a foul, which was rewarded with a much-needed penalty kick chance. Head Coach Chris Hambin ultimately selected the experience veteran Hasbo to take the PK. The Danish midfielder rose to the occasion and sank the shot in the bottom left corner of the net to give Harvard the lead, 1-0, with 13 minutes left in the contest.

“We were applying a lot of pressure on Pepperdine for a goal, and it was a good ball in behind from Anya. I really just wanted to get on the end of it,” Francois said, describing her mentality as she streaked down the field with the goal in her sights.

Pepperdine wasn’t phased by the Crimson’s lead, as it rushed to even the contest with the remaining time left. Ultimately, the Waves responded five minutes later with a goal of their own, bringing the contest to a stalemate. Pepperdine’s Megan Edelman fired a shot from outside the box that barely missed the extended arms of Stewart in order to tie the game at 1-1. With two goals in the span of less than five minutes of gameplay, the contest had ratcheted up decisively.

The Waves’ goal ended Harvard’s 441-minute scoreless run and represented the first goal conceded by Stewart and the Crimson this season. Harvard made a last-ditch effort to push the ball down the field, but it could not get another shot on goal. Pepperdine, however, would get one more shot on goal, but Stewart made a lasting save in the final minute of the contest to allow the time to run out as the game finished up with a draw, 1-1.

Although the Crimson did not finish the game in the manner that the players would have hoped, Harvard remains unbeaten with a record of 3-0-2 on the year, and it also ended the weekend with a slew of awards. Hasbo was named Offensive Ivy Player of the Week, while Stewart was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week. The two upperclassmen will be key pieces for the Crimson as Ivy League play begins later this month.

In the coming days, the team will look to prepare for a long road trip, as it heads off to the Midwest to face Milwaukee University and Northwestern on Thursday, September 12 and Sunday, September 15, respectively. The Thursday matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+ and the game Sunday against the Wildcats will be aired on the Big 10 Network.

—Staff writer Chandler Piggé can be reached at chandler.pigge@thecrimson.com.