Women's Soccer Sweeps Opening Weekend of the Season

With the exception of its season-ending loss to BU in the NCAA tournament, the Harvard women’s soccer team finished its 2013 campaign by going unbeaten in 13 straight matches.

This weekend, the Crimson opened its 2014 season in strong fashion, as its young stars carried the team to two victories.

Harvard (2-0-0) followed up a home win over San Francisco on Friday with one on the road at Providence on Sunday, displaying solid performances and controlling the match on both occasions.

HARVARD 2, PROVIDENCE 0

On Sunday, sophomore forward Midge Purce followed up Friday’s win with another sterling performance, tallying both goals as the Crimson bested Providence at Glay Field on Sunday for its second win of the weekend.

The second year’s first mark came in the 13th minute, as she converted a penalty kick for her first goal of the season. Although the Friars (1-3-2) committed only three fouls in the game to the Crimson’s nine, that foul early in the game proved costly.

After being subbed out for a brief rest in the middle of the second half, Purce notched her second tally of the game less than 90 seconds after returning to the field.

The reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year picked up where she left off last season, having scored 11 goals for the Crimson a year ago.

Durack and the rest of the Harvard defense again proved vital in the victory, recording the Crimson’s second shutout in as many games to start the season. The Friars put more pressure on Harvard than the Lady Dons did on Friday, as Providence outshot the Crimson, 18-11—including 10 to three in the first frame—but simply could not convert any of those opportunities into goals.

“[Our defenders] are such solid, consistent players…and it gives us the confidence to do what we need to do on offense,” Purce said. “They’ve just done a phenomenal job.”

HARVARD 1, SAN FRANCISCO 0

Freshman midfielder Dani Stollar scored in her collegiate debut as Harvard opened its season with a victory against San Francisco, 1-0, at Soldiers Field on Friday night.

The Crimson controlled the game for most of the first half, outshooting the Lady Dons (3-2-1),10-3, in the first frame. The lone tally of the contest came in the 36th minute on a set piece, as Purce played a cross to the far post. After the header was blocked, Stollar controlled the rebound and slotted it past junior goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel.

Purce, Harvard’s leading scorer last season as a freshman, reprised her role as the Crimson’s offensive catalyst. She consistently used her speed to dribble through the San Francisco defense, creating chances both for herself and for her teammates.

“[Purce] started out well and really did move the ball a lot,” Harvard coach Ray Leone said. “She had a good pressure on the ball [and] was exciting in the attack.”

While the Harvard offense dictated the first half, the Lady Dons came out strong after halftime and outshot the Crimson, five to four, in a back-and-forth final 45 minutes. The teams traded possession in the midfield for much of the period as both defenses continually stymied potential offensive chances.

San Francisco tested the Harvard backline and sophomore netminder Lizzie Durack at times in the second half, but Durack made two saves and corralled some threatening loose balls in the box. Her final save came with five seconds left and sealed the win for the Crimson.

“We battled, let’s put it that way,” Leone said. “We didn’t play particularly great in possession, but we defended very hard and fought very hard, and that was a good start. We’ve just got to play more games.”

With the win, Harvard avenged a 1-0 road loss to the Lady Dons last season.The victory marks the first time since 2005 that Harvard has won its first two games of the season.

—Staff writer Phil Delamater can be reached at philipdelamater@college.harvard.edu.