National Power Boston College Too Much for Struggling Crimson

NEWTON, Mass.–The Harvard women’s soccer team was able to achieve something that no other team had done against No. 4 Boston College (7-0-0) all season—but it just wasn’t enough for a win.

Despite knocking home a goal on the vaunted Eagles defense, which had not allowed a score in its first six games of the year, the Crimson (1-4-1) was overpowered by its hosts, falling on the road Friday evening by a tally of 4-1.

“That’s a really good team that we just played,” co-captain Lizzy Nichols said. “And I really felt that we finally brought the emotion and intensity we need to match a team like that.”

“I was very pleased with how we played,” Harvard coach Ray Leone added. “Effort was good, speed of play was really good. BC brought a lot out of us, and we really responded in a good way.”

The pace of the match opened up in the latter minutes of the first half, and the Crimson was able to take advantage of the faster style of play, attempting its only two shots of the period. BC had 11 during the frame.

With about nine minutes left until intermission and Harvard down 2-0, sophomore Melanie Baskind found a sprinting Alexandra Conigliaro from about 20 yards out. The freshman forward took a solid shot on net, but the Eagles’ goalie, sophomore Jillian Mastroianni, made the save.

Conigliaro was not to be denied again, as she made another push in the 40th minute. The rookie delivered a short pass to Baskind in the box, who laid it ahead for teammate Katherine Sheeleigh.

Finding herself with the ball and no one to beat but the netminder, the all-Ivy junior forward knew exactly what to do. She blasted a shot high into the net over Mastroianni, getting the Crimson back into the match.

The score broke BC’s streak of almost 580 minutes without allowing a goal, and although a Harvard corner kick with time winding down was cleared, it was apparent that the road team had received a boost in confidence.

The late surge could not have come at a more optimal time for the Crimson, which desperately needed to bounce back from an early two-goal deficit, brought about by a sister act that had befuddled the Crimson.

Just eight minutes into the game, Eagles co-captain Gina DiMartino made a 10-yard run and launched a rocket from 25 yards out to give her team the early lead.

Less than two minutes later, BC would find the twine again, when DiMartino delivered a through ball to her sibling—freshman Victoria DiMartino—who slid the ball past Harvard senior keeper Lauren Mann.

A member of the U-20 US women’s national team, the younger DiMartino leads her team in goals and points.

But the Crimson did manage to slow down its opponent’s potent offense for the rest of the half and looked to carry momentum over into the final 45 minutes.

“Just the emotion and feeling inside of the locker room during halftime, you could really feel that we are in this game—we were excited, we were having fun, we were achieving the goals we set out for ourselves,” Nichols said.

But hopes of a comeback were foiled early on. The Eagles came out firing, forcing Mann into a save 22 seconds in, and they did not let up.

The crowd of just over 600 fans witnessed an impressive performance by the Harvard keeper, who had a season-high 12 saves, many of which were worthy of a highlight reel. Victoria DiMartino let a particularly vicious shot fly in the 61st minute, but a crouching Mann leapt to her right to make a spectacular stop.

“[Mann} was exciting...she kept us in the game,” Leone said. “She should be feeling really good about her performance tonight.”

Mann’s efforts couldn’t hold off the relentless attack of BC forever, and the home team turned the tide for good with lethal counterattacks after failed Crimson offensive attempts.

With twenty minutes left to play, a diving Kristen Mewis put a header off a cross into the near post for a 3-1 lead, and Victoria DiMartino gave her team a three-goal edge on her eighth score of the season at 75:57.

A free kick by Nichols would be the only shot for Harvard the rest of the way. BC held the edge in shots on goal, 16-3, for the game.

Having competed with one of the most talented teams in the nation, the Crimson came away encouraged, rather than disappointed.

“They had good goals, but I’m proud of the way we put it out there,” Nichols said. “I think it gives us really good preparation for the Ivy League because that’s the kind of emotion that it takes to play a game.”

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.