W. Soccer Pulls Off 1-0 Win at Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--Revenge is sweet. And nothing could have been sweeter for the Harvard women's soccer team than snapping Yale's two-game winning streak on its home field with a 1-0 win Saturday afternoon. Back in 1997, on the same field, Yale upset Harvard with a 3-2 overtime win, halting the Crimson's winning streak at 22 consecutive League matches, just shy of Brown's Ivy League record of 24.

"Last time we played on this field, two years ago, they upset us," said midfielder Julia Blain. "We had a huge win streak going in to the game, and they upset us. It was all about revenge, a little bit of pride for us."

Freshman Joey Yenne launched a beautiful shot in the top corner in the 64th minute to hand Harvard (4-1, 2-0 Ivy) its second consecutive Ivy League success.

"Julia Blain and Bryce Weed were playing with the ball on the sideline, and I think Bryce was the one who hit the ball on the ground," Yenne said. "I had my back to their goal, and I just turned with it from outside the 18. It was awesome. I was just pumped."

Yale (2-3, 1-1) challenged and had a quality scoring chance late in the second, but an ill-timed header resulted in an easy save for freshman goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther, who collected her first shutout of the season.

"I think we wanted it, so we drove through it in the end," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said. "I think we still controlled most of the game, and we didn't give up any chances at the end."

Both teams began strongly in the first half, and it was clear that soccer's version of The Game was going to be a match-up to remember.

"Harvard-Yale is always a battle, no matter what," Wheaton said. "Someone could be 10-0, 0-10. They are two good teams, two pretty young teams battling out there. But it was fun, a great game."

The Crimson began strongly, as Blain and midfield counterpart Ashley Berman barely missed on a few choice opportunities early in the first half, but Yale's defense kept the pressure on, preventing any early goals.

Fancy footwork came from the duo of Meredith Stewart and Yenne in the 36th minute, and Harvard just missed notching the first score of the game.

Stewart took a long pass by the sidelines, just barely staying in bounds. With a short pass, Stewart set up Yenne in front, but she could not finish. That scoring chance foreshadowed Yenne's key goal in the second.

After almost 40 minutes of rough and scoreless play, Yale got a good rush that nearly resulted in a goal. The Bulldogs' Jennifer Mendoza was alone in front of the net, but Harvard co-captain Jessica Larson, a mainstay in the back along with freshman Katie Urbanic, kept the Crimson out of harm's way.

As Mendoza set up for the shot, Larson dived in front in a desperate measure to protect Gunther and clear the ball, a testament to the perpetually strong Harvard defense.

Yale seemed encouraged by its strong offense, and the Bulldogs dominated the final minutes of the first half in the Harvard zone.

"We knew coming in that they were going to be really working hard," Blain said. They were gunning for us. They love Yale, the love to beat us."

After another physical but scoreless first half, much like the Crimson's match-up against Columbia last week, the tide turned for the better.

Yale's fate was sealed as Harvard scored the game-winner at 63:24.

Yenne, who ranked fifth in the national high school annals for most goals scored--an incredible 71 in 18 games--took a pass from Weed to grab her second goal of the season, with Weed and Blain each notching an assist for the effort.

"I think we were just kind of playing around with the ball on the sidelines," Blain said. "A couple of passes in there, and then I sort of flicked it in the middle. Joey was right there and just hit a beautiful shot, a great shot."

With the Crimson up 1-0, the Bulldogs began to lose focus and started making mistakes, mistakes that perhaps cost them the win.

With less than 20 minutes to go, the Bulldogs had a golden opportunity to tie the game at 1-1. But Yale made a crucial mistake that may well have cost them the game.

Off a cleared corner, Yale sent a long ball from the sideline into the box, where a forward, who was unmarked, chose to play a weak header instead of putting the ball on the ground. That allowed Gunther to make the save and preserve the 1-0 lead.

After this demoralizing last chance, it seemed that Yale lost its momentum. The Crimson dominated the final minutes of the second half. The pace of the game slowed somewhat, as Harvard focused on protecting its lead, rather than increasing it to 2-0.

The play of freshmen like Gunther and Yenne was encouraging.

"The freshman are excellent. They've stepped right in and filled the holes," Blain said. "You know, they may be freshmen off the field, but on the field, they're not freshmen. They play with the rest of us."