Road-Weary Crimson Earns Win

For the far-traveling Harvard women’s soccer team, home was a welcome sight.

In its first game at Ohiri Field in 2008, the Crimson (2-2-1, 0-0 Ivy) came out firing and held off previously unbeaten Davidson (2-1-3, 0-0 Southern) for a 2-1 victory on Friday afternoon.

The Crimson went 7-2 at Ohiri Field last season and was ready to return home after logging plenty of hours en route to its first three games in California and New Hampshire.

“We’ve gone across the country twice, then played New Hampshire, then come back here,” Leone said. “For that, it was a great game.”

Senior Erin Wylie and freshman Melanie Baskind each notched a first-half goal and the defense held off a strong Wildcat push in the final minutes.

It was the first goal of the season for Wylie and the first in the collegiate ranks for Baskind, who in early action looks to be the Katherine Sheeleigh of a year ago: a lightning-quick rookie with little reservation about what to do with a good look on net.

In the 32nd minute, Baskind took a pass from fellow freshman Lindsey Kowal at midfield, weaved past a host of Davidson defenders, and fired a bullet from the left side that beat Wildcat keeper Loring Ward right post to extend Harvard’s early lead.

The tally marked Kowal’s first collegiate assist.

Wylie had given the Crimson a 1-0 cushion just 10 minutes into the game, taking a pass from Baskind and lofting a shot over Ward’s head from point-blank range.

Concern replaced confidence for the Harvard faithful at Ohiri Field in the second half, when an aggressive Davidson squad pulled within a goal and had several near-miss chances to tie things up.

A penalty just outside the box set up a scoring opportunity for Davidson in the 56th minute, and Stephanie Gerow put the finisher past Crimson keeper Lauren Mann after a few Wildcat touches in front of the net. It was the second goal of the season for Gerow, and Harvard never looked completely comfortable afterward.

“Anyone will tell you that the first few minutes of a game or a half are the most important,” senior Rachael Lau said. “They came out fired up, and it’s important for us to match that intensity.”

The game became a battle for possession in the midfield, and each team had its chances to score.

Baskind and Sheeleigh teamed up for some pretty plays in the Wildcats zone, and Davidson’s Tiffany Mumby had perhaps the day’s closest call when her bid to tie the game ran just wide of the Harvard goal at 83:30.

But Gerow’s goal notwithstanding, Mann, who recorded six saves on the day, withstood Davidson’s second-half pressure.

Lau and sophomores Kerry Kartsonis and Katherine Kuzma worked hard on the middle and back lines to maintain possession and limit breakaway opportunities for Davidson. Still, the Harvard crowd had more than its fair share of thrills as time ran down on the Wildcats’ comeback bid, and at times the Crimson’s once-comfortable cushion seemed to be slipping away.

“They were keeping the ball better than we were,” Leone said. “We’ve got to get back to what we do well, and that’s keeping the ball. We didn’t do that very well today.”

“We played through what many would say was a sloppy game,” Lau added. “They had a lot of confidence, but it’s good for our confidence now that we can play with this kind of team. It’ll be good momentum for us—we have a lot of games coming up.”

Friday’s showing testified not only to the team’s ability to compete overall, but also to the steady progress of Leone’s freshmen in only their third game of collegiate action. Beyond starters Baskind and Kowal, three other rookies saw time in Friday’s game. So far, Leone has no qualms about throwing them into tight situations—he not only played all five in the first half, when the lead was comfortable, but also gave them major minutes in the rockier moments of the second frame.

“We’re trying to play each one of them every chance we get,” Leone said. “They’re getting better every game.

“It was a gritty performance,” Leone added. “We didn’t play great, but I’m proud of our team for gritting it out.”

—Staff writer Emily W. Cunningham can be reached at ecunning@fas.harvard.edu.