Boasting a very talented but also very young squad, the Harvard women's soccer team used goals by two seniors to open its Ivy League season with a win Saturday afternoon against Columbia.

Senior midfielder Julia Blain headed in the deciding goal in the 60th minute of play, as the Crimson (3-1, 1-0 Ivy) defeated the Lions (3-1, 0-1) by 2-1at Ohiri Field.

Senior midfielder Ashley Berman had converted a penalty kick in the 50th minute for the Crimson's first goal.

"It was a free kick from Meredith Stewart that found Beth Totman, one of our freshmen," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said about the game-winner. "Totman continued on to Blain, who knew exactly what she was supposed to do and she headed it home."

Despite owning an 0-13-1 record all-time against the Crimson, Columbia proved to be a difficult opponent.

"Columbia just plays so hard with so much heart that they make it so difficult to play your game," Wheaton said. "They force you to play their style and they did that at times today, so it's always a tough way to start the Ivy League."

With the win, Harvard recorded its 100th Ivy victory in program history, becoming the first women's team in the conference to reach the mark.

"To be the first women's soccer team to reach 100 wins in the Ivy is amazing," Wheaton said. "It means that we've been the most successful and most consistent team in the Ivy League, and every single player who's played at Harvard can take some pride in that. It means so much to us and those who have supported us."

The manner in which the match was going early on, however, left doubts as to whether the win would come at all. From the outset Harvard applied significant pressure on Columbia, constantly beating the Lions to the ball and creating several solid scoring opportunities. But despite its dominance, no goals resulted.