Busby Denies Penalty in Final Minutes, Seals Women’s Soccer Scoreless Draw Against Syracuse

Syracuse honored its graduating class of seniors ahead of its nonconference matchup against Harvard women’s soccer (1-2-1) on Sunday.

But it was freshman goalkeeper Olivia Busby who spoiled the home team’s celebrations, saving a penalty in the final two minutes to cap a stout defensive showing in the Crimson-Orange color war otherwise defined by both teams’ consistent offensive barrage.

Four saves from Busby in the second half, alongside two saves from sophomore goalie Olivia Bidun to start the match, matched the Orange’s five saves in net.

Busby’s finest save came late in the game after junior defender Erin Gordon lunged for a clean tackle to slow a drive toward the endline, though her subsequent recovery tripped up the Syracuse attacker, drawing a penalty kick.

The Orange, which scored its previous 10 penalties, ended its streak as Busby saved her second penalty of the season to maintain a clear scoreboard.

Both sides maintained streaks of possession dominance throughout both halves, with Harvard facing its first true offensive match on the stat sheet. The Crimson outshot Syracuse 18-16, but the Orange (3-1-2) led the shots on goal with 6-5.

Syracuse lost a four-game undefeated streak in its most recent match, falling 2-1 to Niagara College after beating Princeton — last year’s Ivy League regular-season champion and tournament runner-up — 3-0.

Harvard, meanwhile, earned its first scoreless stalemate since last September against Kansas State and secured its second shutout of the season, following a freshman-scoring frenzy in its final match of a three-game homestand against Fairfield University.

“It was a really good test for us against a very athletic team that plays in the ACC and was very well prepared and organized, which we knew coming into it,” Crimson head coach Chris Hamblin said. “We did a very good job in creating chances and putting ourselves into position to test them and stress them, though we lacked a little bit in moments where it counted in the final third.

“But we definitely created a lot, and we defended very, very well and limited their chances,” the coach added. “It was a really entertaining game.”

Freshman forward Brooke Huleatt led all players on the pitch with six shots, three of which landed on target.

Harvard soared down its beloved left side early, with Huleatt and fellow freshman forward Molly Vana forcing a swift save by working chances on the wing, while Syracuse quickly built possession with its own chances through a corner via a through ball.

Bidun secured her two saves within the first 12 minutes, including blocking a major chance from the Orange where a drive down the left wing found space between Harvard’s defensive line for a Syracuse forward to tap in. However, Bidun, who transferred from the University of Georgia, had just enough time to trap the ball between her legs.

Though Harvard struggled to appear much in the attacking half after its first chances, defenders senior Susie Long and sophomore Danicka Miller remained sturdy on a slew of drives down the Crimson’s right side.

The defensive resilience was soon rewarded. The Crimson slowly rebuilt control of its possession through senior defender Jasmine Lehsnick connecting with Huleatt and captain forward Anna Rayhill on opposite wings, though the Orange’s wingbacks initially met the challenge.

Its biggest chance came 25 minutes into the match, with freshman midfielder Lou Ruffien finding space on the right to tap it to Rayhill, whose pull-back landed a shot deep into the box but fell wide. Senior defender Amy König won a header from a corner, but the ball rebounded off the crossbar.

“It was probably the most athletic team that we faced, and so there were no real uncontested shots. When you’re under pressure and around the final third, and you’re being leaned into and getting defenders coming in hard,” Hamblin explained. “Just making sure we can get those chances off our feet a little bit quicker and a little bit more quality in that technique will help us for sure.”

Syracuse spent very little time in its offensive half, as further upward balls were calmly collected by Harvard’s defense. The Crimson had the early edge in shots, 10-3, though the sides equalized with two shots on target and saves apiece.

However, early in the second half, the Orange forced hefty clearances from Harvard, leading to several chances including a corner and a shot from a cross that missed just wide.

“In the previous games we’ve played, it’s been one team dominating in a half, and then the other team dominating in the other half,” Hamblin said. “It’s a really good experience for us as a team to be able to have to manage momentum, to be able to recognize when the game is getting away from us and slow it down and be able to turn it back around.”

Ten minutes into the half, Huleatt’s biggest chance started from a solo run from midfield into the box, dribbling past several defenders before the ensuing shot was saved.

Minutes later, Rayhill found Vana down the wing, crossing it to an unmarked Huleatt — but a last-ditch clearance from the Syracuse goalie kept the scoreboard clear.

Busby was kept equally busy on her end of the net — diving to save a free-kick opportunity just outside of the box as well as a ball rolling toward her opposite post.

“We knew how dangerous they were in transition, and we did a good job of eliminating them with our defensive shape, and individuals did a good job in one-on-ones,” Hamblin said. “We knew they were going to be dangerous on set pieces, and we defended those well.”

“We didn’t really give them sustained possession or opportunities in our final third, but they were dangerous enough to cause us some problems,” he added.

Midway through the second half, both teams registered four shots with two on target, though with five minutes remaining Syracuse changed the scales, registering seven additional shots to the Crimson’s four, with one more shot on target.

Two late coach’s challenges from Harvard — one on Gordon’s foul that led to Busby’s penalty save, as well as a potential tripping call during Huleat’s left wing drive — were unsuccessful, securing the scoreless draw.

“Defensively as a team, there’s been a lot of progress, with our backline and our goalkeeping. Coming out of this week without conceding a goal is a huge positive,” Hamblin said. “Both Nicole and Olivia have stepped up, and they were both needed to be counted on today and stood up when they needed to. We feel very confident in that position.”

Harvard will continue its road trip to face Boston University (2-3) on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. EDT, before traveling South to face an undefeated No. 6 University of Alabama (6-0) on Sunday.

“It’s about as tough as it’s going to get right now,” said Hamblin. “There are so many good moments in there that we can celebrate, but also a lot of areas where we’ll look at and say we can clean this up, we can be better.”

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