No. 24 Harvard Women’s Soccer Beats Cornell 4-1 Behind A Strong Second Half

After entering halftime in a 1-1 stalemate, No. 24 Harvard (8-2-1, 2-0 Ivy League) needed just 16 minutes to score three goals in the second half, using the energy provided by the Alumni Day crowd to spark its 4-1 win over Cornell (4-4-2, 1-1).

Freshman forward Brooke Huleatt scored two goals, opening the scoring early in the first half before adding Harvard’s fourth to cap off the victory. Co-captains Ólöf Kristinsdóttir and Anna Rayhill each also scored in the second half.

So far this season, Huleatt or Kristinsdóttir has scored in all of the Crimson’s games except in the team’s 0-0 draw against Syracuse.

“We prepared for Cornell, who are a very, very defensively organized team that had only conceded one goal in the last five games. We knew it’d be hard, and the first half proved that,” head coach Chris Hamblin said. “Although we had some chances, we only capitalized on one, and they caught us on a really good play, which wasn’t where we wanted it to be.

“I’m really proud of the way the team came out in the second half, made the adjustments to get us more in possession and drive the quality we needed,” he added. “Then it was pretty fun because we were able to get some goals in the second half, and a lot of players played some good minutes and did really well and kept them off the board.”

Cornell entered the game having allowed only one goal in its last five matches, but Harvard overcame the Big Red’s defensive line with its signature offensive prowess. The Crimson’s high-powered offense has helped the team secure the program’s first top-25 ranking in the IWSOC Coaches’ Poll since 2023, its last Ivy League Championship-winning season. Central to Harvard’s scoring explosion is Huleatt, who is the only freshman in the country with at least seven goals and seven assists.

“It’s a wonderful statement of the work the team has put in. Ultimately, those rankings really only matter at the end of the year,” Hamblin said. “But it’s nice for the team to get recognized for the hard work they’ve put in, and I know it gives them great pride to know that people are noticing outside of what’s going on in practice and the games every day.”

The Crimson has entered the second half of games tied only three times this season, including its matches against No. 5 Alabama and Princeton. In two of those contests, Harvard went on to secure decisive victories.

Continuing its dominance, the hosts limited the Big Red to just three shots on target — all of which came from the visitors’ goal scorer, senior forward Alanna Colbert. The Crimson’s goalkeepers, freshman Olivia Busby and sophomore Nicole Bidun, split time in net again and each secured a save, while Cornell’s freshman keeper Sofia Kerrigan tallied five.

The Big Red went on the attack early in the game, drilling deep balls into Harvard’s defensive half and applying pressure through runs down the wings. The visiting team nearly seized a big chance to open the scoring, as a midfielder sent an aerial ball ahead of the Crimson’s center backs.

Luckily for the many alums who returned to Cambridge to celebrate the program’s Alumni Day, Busby dove to stop the one-on-one opportunity 11 minutes into the half.

Senior midfielder Jasmine Leshnick responded with an aerial play of her own, launching it from Harvard’s defensive third. A Cornell defender tried to clear the ball but skied the kick, giving Huleatt an open runway. Although the goalie got her fingertips on Huleatt’s tap, the ball still slowly trickled over the goal line and into the net.

After taking the lead, the Crimson’s defense played stoutly, winning several clutch clearances to defuse the Big Red’s offensive sequences.

Unfortunately, after Harvard sent one clearance out of bounds, Cornell capitalized on the following possession. The Big Red took the throw-in quickly and sent a high-arching cross into the box, which Colbert headed in to level the score.

For the rest of the half, the teams traded possession in the midfield, but neither could effectively break past the other’s back line.

Harvard did have two strong chances thanks to freshman forward Molly Vana. On one play, the rookie’s offensive pressure forced the Big Red to make a desperate clear that landed at Leshnick’s feet. The senior eventually drew a free kick just outside the box — though Kerrigan punched the ensuing shot away from the top left corner to deny the goal.

To close the half, Vana rushed the ball into the penalty box before going down, though the Crimson’s ensuing penalty pleas were unsuccessful.

“The message [at halftime] was we’re getting frustrated because they’re doing a really good job. The solution is for us to make better choices when we have the ball. We don’t need to go big over them all the time; we need to be able to find feet and adjust the ratio of bigger balls to smaller balls in regard to how we try and play, and not get frustrated,” Hamblin said. “Just be patient, keep the ball, get back to what makes us us. The team did an excellent job of that. We opened them up in the second half.”

During the halftime break, Harvard reset, returning to the high offensive productivity that has driven its success so far this season.

Sophomore midfielder Elsa Santos López won a decisive tackle to halt a Cornell attack, then circulated the ball to senior midfielder Anya Van Den Einde in the left back position. The senior took advantage of the space, driving up half of the field before locating Kristinsdóttir just outside the penalty box.

Kristinsdóttir had plenty of time to place her shot, calmly firing it into the left side of the net — much to the delight of dozens of alumni gathered at a tent on the endline.

Throughout the half, Rayhill continued to apply pressure down the right wing and receive through balls from midfield. The captain’s runs eventually paid off in the 63rd minute.

Slipping a ball through three different lines of Cornell defenders, freshman midfielder Camila Reinaldo found Huleatt breaking through on a deep inside run. Kerrigan stepped off her line and pushed the ball away, but Rayhill swooped in for the rebound to put Harvard ahead 3-1.

Just a minute later, Huleatt cemented the win from outside the box. After winning a free kick at midfield, a streak of one-touch, precise passes between the Crimson’s players let Santos López find Huleatt open on the wing.

The rookie from Rifton, N.Y. barely took a touch just past Cornell’s right back before whipping a rocket from the Ivy logo at the top left of the box, sailing it over the keeper’s hands for a stylish goal.

“I’m really proud because sometimes it takes a video session after a game like this when the result doesn’t go your way to fix it,” Hamblin said. “They were able to fix it in the flow, in the moment, and it just goes to show the maturity and the leadership that they have on the field that they’re able to make those adjustments and take a breath and get it done. Very proud of them.”

Hamblin opted to defend the lead to close the game, replacing Huleatt with senior Susie Long, a defensive-minded midfielder.

Despite the Crimson’s defensive positioning, many of Harvard’s attackers forged late offensive chances against the Big Red, including junior Lauren Muniz, who won an open lane down the right before her shot sailed just over the crossbar.

In the final 20 minutes of the game, Cornell recorded its three — and only — shots of the half, though Harvard’s backline clearances kept Bidun relatively unbusy in net.

The Crimson now shifts its focus to a road trip game against Dartmouth (7-1-2, 1-1), the reigning Ivy League Tournament Champion, on Saturday at 4 p.m. EDT.

The Big Green conceded only three goals in non-conference play before falling 2-0 to Columbia on Saturday. In an attempt to secure one of four available spots in the Ivy League Tournament, Dartmouth will look to bounce back against Harvard and retain its form from a statement 4-0 win over Penn in its conference opener. The Crimson, meanwhile, will strive to maintain its top spot in the Ancient Eight standings and extend its win streak to eight.

“They have a very similar record to us,” Hamblin said. “They’re going to be very, very good, and playing away is always a new challenge, so I’m very excited for that. But we’re going to get some rest, recover, and get ourselves back out next week and ready for Dartmouth.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.