Harvard Women’s Soccer Wins Fourth Straight Game in 6-0 Victory over New Hampshire

Braving the rain in Durham, N.H., Harvard women’s soccer poured in three early goals to kick off its 6-0 demolition of the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on Sunday.

Captain forward Ólöf Kristinsdóttir, the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, opened the scoring for the Crimson just two minutes in.

Senior defender Susie Long sent a bouncing ball through midfield, which freshman forward Brooke Huleatt picked up and drove down a largely empty left wing. The rookie slid the ball across the box to Kristinsdóttir, and a lengthy offside review cleared the conversion for Harvard’s opening goal and extended the captain’s scoring streak to four games.

The Icelandic national tallied her sixth goal — the most of any Harvard women’s soccer player this season — with all but one coming within the first twenty minutes of regulation.

Sunday’s win came a week after the Crimson (5-2-1) defeated then-No. 6 University of Alabama, maintaining its six-game undefeated streak with its fourth straight victory. Harvard has also already surpassed the 19 goals it scored last year — converting 23 across its opening non-conference slate.

In its largest margin since beating Yale 6-0 in October 2022, Harvard landed 15 of its 22 shots on target, compared to UNH’s (3-3-2) two shots on goal. The Wildcats’ keepers combined for nine saves, while Crimson goalies sophomore Nicole Bidun and freshman Olivia Busby each recorded a save.

Six different players scored for Harvard, while Huleatt led goal contributions with two assists and a goal. Freshman forward Molly Vana and captain Anna Rayhill each recorded a goal and an assist.

“We were in control of the game from the first minute, and I’m just really proud of the growth the group has shown,” head coach Chris Hamblin said.

After a corner kick, senior midfielder Anya Van Den Einde collected the ball for a cross, though the ball rolled back outside again to her feet. With her second cross, she found freshman midfielder Lou Ruffien unmarked at the near post — helping the French youth national team player secure her first collegiate goal.

With Ruffien’s goal, all four of Harvard’s freshman attackers have scored in their debut season.

“We knew we had a talented group of first-years, and we were hoping they would be able to contribute to the attack. They have really been able to demonstrate that they can do that,” Hamblin said. “I’m really happy for Lou. She’s been putting in a lot of work, and she’s been very, very close on a number of occasions.”

UNH fired its first attempt with a kick from the top right of the penalty box, though it ricocheted off the crossbar. Shortly after the 10-minute mark, a late tackle from senior defender Amy König initially appeared to cost Harvard a penalty, though the call was overturned after an offside review.

The Wildcats’ senior goalie Sonja Zeepvat continued to have her hands full. Just 10 minutes later, Zeepvat recorded her fifth save of the game, saving a sequence of an initial deep unmarked run from Huleatt followed by a rebound attempt by Kristinsdóttir.

Despite Harvard’s offensive domination, UNH did not let the visiting team rest.

With less than 15 minutes remaining in the half, the Wildcat forwards chopped the ball inside and created their first shot on target, an opportunity toward Harvard’s backpost, though Bidun dove and pushed the ball off the woodwork for her first save of the game.

After Busby substituted into the Crimson’s net for the second half, she secured a save after a Harvard defensive giveaway resulted in a slowed-down shot to easily collect.

After a throw-in passing exchange between Kristinsdóttir and Huleatt at the top left corner, Huleatt zigzagged around two Wildcat defenders to locate Rayhill in the box. The captain’s powerful shot ricocheted off the crossbar, coming down to roll into the net for Harvard’s 4-0 lead.

The trio combined again on the next play less than two minutes later. A give-and-go between the two captains led to a quick counterattack down the field, and the resulting save rebounded to Huleatt for another Crimson goal.

“It’s really great to see the team shining and hitting their stride and supporting each other,” Hamblin said. “They’re being selfless.”

With 25 minutes remaining, Vana drove down the right wing and assisted junior forward Sarah Lloyd, who fired a one-touch rocket toward the top corner — tallying her first collegiate goal and securing the 6-0 victory.

“The defensive commitment from the team across the board has been getting better and better,” Hamblin said. “We’ve done a nice job defensively, but I also want to shout out our goalkeepers today too. Biden and Busby both had to come out with a big save each to keep them off the scoreboard, and then [sophomore] Sophie Fleishman went in as well.”

“It was a collective team effort to keep them to low-percentage shots rather than good chances. We challenged the team before the game to take better quality shots,” he added. “I don’t think we did that against Northeastern, and I think they delivered today in a really positive way.”

Though the Crimson navigated some close calls with defensive turnovers through the final stretch, UNH continued to waste its offensive opportunities — including a three-on-one attacking build-up that sailed wide — and struggled to secure contested balls that bobbled back and forth between the teams.

After eight games in 24 days, Harvard will seek to defend its streak of six undefeated games and four straight wins as it closes out non-conference play, returning home to face the University of Connecticut (2-1-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT.

“We had the opportunity today to get some players a lot of playing time that maybe hadn’t had as many minutes recently, and they stepped up and did a really great job,” Hamblin said. “Our depth is certainly a strength. But I’m just really proud of the way our team has not dropped off since Alabama, as it’s so easy to take your foot off the gas and feel really comfortable after a top-10 win.”

“Just really, really happy for the group, and proud of the effort they’re putting in,” Hamblin added. “It’s paying off, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. We got some tough games coming up. I’m looking forward to it.”

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