Harvard Women’s Soccer Stuns No. 6 Alabama in Crimson Clash After Ten-Goal Thriller

The University of Alabama entered its final nonconference game undefeated and with four straight shutouts, having scored 16 goals across its first seven games — just three shy of Harvard’s total offensive conversions last season.

The Crimson snapped that streak in the 10-goal thriller, clawing back from a 2-0 deficit early in the first half and converting two penalties in the second half to regain control against a 10-person Alabama squad.

Following a nearly two-hour lightning delay, Harvard women’s soccer (3-2-1) slammed the door on the SEC powerhouse, stunning No. 6 University of Alabama (7-1) in a 6-4 victory on Sunday.

Captain forward Ólöf Kristinsdóttir led Harvard in goal contributions, converting a penalty and assisting three others. Freshman forward Brooke Huleatt scored two goals in the second half to push Harvard to 4-3 — establishing a lead that the Crimson didn’t relinquish for the rest of the game.

“This game had it all. It was like a Disney movie. You’re down by two goals, and then you find a way to come back against a team that hasn’t conceded a goal in the last four games, and has only conceded four goals all season,” head coach Chris Hamblin said. “When you put all those pieces together, it’s a wild, wild game.”

“A really huge win for the team and for the program, and they earned it,” he added.

In net, sophomore Nicole Bidun — a transfer from the University of Georgia who, during her time with the Bulldogs, only played against one SEC opponent — and freshman Olivia Busby split time and combined for seven saves, denying key chances to begin and close the game.

The last time Harvard scored six goals was during its 6-0 win against Yale in October 2022, and it hadn’t played in a 10-goal game since 1991 in a 10-2 victory over the University of Pennsylvania.

“We’ve known since we did the schedule that this was going to be a big game against the SEC team,” Hamblin said. “I don’t know if we anticipated them being as strong as they were when we scheduled them a while back, but that’s what we want to do. We want to test ourselves against elite-level competition.’

“100-degree temperatures, it was incredibly hot, and the team just believed in themselves, believed in the game plan. We had to keep the ball and be able to execute, and they just did an incredible job during the duration of the game,” he added. “We showed some grit, and I’m just so proud of the way the team showed up and how they fought for each other and earned the win.”

Bidun had her hands full early on from a range of distance shots and inside-the-box giveaways, with Alabama pressing Harvard early on and forcing the visitors to rely on hefty clearances and retreats.

Seventeen minutes in, the Crimson Tide sauntered into a possession-dominant momentum, with its closest chances coming from a shot in the box that barely ricocheted off the goal post. Alabama tallied six corners early on, recording eight shots to the Crimson’s three.

Utilizing its momentum, the hosts struck first on the scoreboard. Harvard began to rebuild possession on an ensuing counterattack, but a Crimson Tide player stepped in front to secure the interception. Alabama’s forward found a breakaway run from a teammate between the Crimson’s center-back pair, flowing through an opening to score past Bidun.

Just a few minutes later, Alabama punished Harvard for its missed opportunities, gaining control of the ball as it bobbled between players in the midfield.

A resulting deflection off a Crimson defender provided the space for the opposing forward to run through and slot the 2-0 lead.

Striking back for Harvard, captain forward Anna Rayhill — who had two large chances minutes before, forcing a save and another just over the crossbar — converted her first chance. Off the successive kick-off, Huleatt, on the wings, found Kristinsdóttir. Her shot across the goal forced a save, but the rebound found Rayhill ready at the back post for the Crimson’s first goal.

Rayhill finished the half with five shots, and one of her most crucial plays came with nine minutes remaining in the half.

After Bidun saved and collected a ball from an overhead kick, Rayhill dummied the ball past her defender on Harvard’s defensive right wing, but the forward was tripped up just before crossing midfield.

Originally called for a yellow card, Hamblin officially challenged the play, and the ensuing review found that the Alabama player had committed a studs-up foul. The red-card infraction left the host down to 10 players for the remainder of the match.

“The challenges are new this year,” Hamblin said. “But when we saw that tackle on Anna, it looked really bad when I saw it, and my immediate response was that’s a red card.”

“I’m glad we were able to get that one overturned in the way that it should have been. So I think the new rule is great. It allows referees to get another look at plays, and hopefully over the course of the season, get things the way they should be,” he added. “Once that happened, it allowed us that little bit more time on the ball for us to move the ball and move them to create some more opportunities. Our team did a wonderful job of managing those moments and keeping possession a little bit better.”

Harvard soon capitalized on the advantage. Following freshman forward Molly Vana’s effort to win the ball in the box, the ball found sophomore forward Kennedy Belfon on the wing. She threaded a pass to junior forward Lauren Muniz, who slid a low ball outside of the box into the net for the 2-2 tie.

Though the Crimson’s next goal-scoring opportunity by freshman midfielder Lou Ruffien was ruled offside, a tackle from junior forward Sarah Lloyd was called for a penalty against the Crimson seven minutes into the half.

Alabama converted, regaining a 3-2 lead.

Less than a minute later, Kristinsdóttir won a penalty of her own after a collision on her back as she went up for a header. The initial penalty was saved, but Huleatt dashed in for the rebound and converted the shot.

Yet again, Huleatt, on her dangerous left wing, worked deftly toward the box before an Alabama challenge tripped her run inside the penalty box. This time, Kristinsdóttir converted the penalty, and Harvard jumped to a 4-3 lead.

Despite a nearly two-hour lightning delay early in the second half, neither side seemed disturbed by the postponement, returning to the pitch with offensive strength. The Crimson appeared to boast a slight advantage, with the Crimson Tide forced to settle for corner kick clearances.

“We put ourselves in their shoes,” Hamblin said. “We expected them to put more pressure, and so we just talked about what we could expect in that last 35 minutes.”

“We talked about how they’re going to push for the equalizing goal, and we’re going to have opportunities, and we need to be able to take advantage of those, the space behind them, and that’s exactly what we ended up doing,” he added. “So, when you have two hours to think about it, it really gives me the chance to strategize and for the team to discuss it and figure it out.”

Huleatt pummeled Alabama’s backline twice more. She broke through on the left wing, forced a tight save from the opposing keeper, and soon fired another shot from the top of the box after beating defenders.

The freshman’s offensive prowess paid off. From a goal kick, senior defender Jasmine Leshnick headed the ball through to Huleatt, who carried the run through space all the way into the net for a 5-3 lead.

“That Alabama squad was undefeated. This is a very good team we played today, so credit to them,” Huleatt said after the game in an interview with ESPN+. “But you could just see the fight from our squad. Even with rain delays, water breaks, our mentality was so on point today, and we have a belief that I think can get us pretty far this season.”

“As a striker, it’s my job to be fearless and take one-on-ones when I can get them, and my team has put faith in me to do that,” the rookie added. “When I get involved in this kind of situation, I just go up against my defender, but credit to my team for putting me in that position.”

Unfortunately for Harvard, a late solo effort from an Alabama forward won a deflection off the visitor’s defender to unexpectedly sail past Busby.

However, the visitors got the last word.

Kristinsdóttir found Leshnick on the wings, and Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week chopped past one defender to find space for the cross-goal shot and seal the 6-4 victory.

With three non-conference games remaining until its Ivy League opener, the Crimson will return to Jordan Field to face off against local rivals Northeastern University (2-2-2) on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

“If we don’t continue to build on this, it takes away from the result today,” Hamblin said. “We’ve grown, and we’ve had some really important lessons that we’ve had to learn from, and we figured out how to grow. This is another huge step in that direction.”

“It’s a huge credit to the team, and everyone served their role and did a fantastic job,” he added.

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