PROVIDENCE, R.I.—In a heated, physical match filled with missed opportunities, the Harvard women’s soccer team topped Brown 1-0 in its Ivy opener and capped an undefeated day for Harvard varsity sports in Providence.

The lone goal of the match came late during the 71st minute off of a corner kick from All-American junior midfielder Katie Westfall. The free kick found senior forward Beth Totman’s head, who knocked it into the back of the net. Totman, who was supposed to be marking the goalie on the play, sprinted from the middle of the net to the near post to score the only point of the match.

Totman thought Brown goalkeeper Sarah Gervais was in position to make the save, but Gervais was caught behind a couple of teammates who prevented her from reaching the shot in time.

The Crimson (3-3, 1-0 Ivy) dominated the game, outshooting the Bears 19-6, and allowed only one first half corner kick. But Harvard had trouble finding the back of the net against Brown (3-3-2, 0-1-1) throughout the game.

“The opportunities were there, we just kicked [the ball] away,” said junior back Lauren Cozzolino.

Brown also had opportunities of its own, especially in the second half, which was much more closely played than the first. The Bears best chance came in the 83rd minute of the game, when they fired off three consecutive shots. But freshman goalie Maja Augustdottir shut down the Bears and saved the last shot while on her back. After the save, one of the Bears kicked Augustdottir while trying to follow up on the rebound.

The netminding duties were split between Augustdottir and fellow freshman Katie Shields. Augustdottir was playing in her first game since returning from a stint with the Iceland national team in World Cup qualifying.

The Brown victory comes off a string of three straight losses for Harvard, who had dropped its three previous games to nationally ranked teams—Penn State, Washington and Portland. But though the Crimson lost all three games, the team believed they provided a great prep for the Ivy season.

Playing against superior opponents forced the Crimson to quickly match the other team’s strengths.

“We couldn’t get an extra touch, because Portland would always be there,” Totman said. “We had to adjust and learn how to feel quicker.”

Against Brown, a team focused on defense, Harvard had to adjust to a five-defender scheme, which thwarted away many of the Crimson’s first shot opportunities but also gave Harvard several corner kicks, one of which led to the game’s only goal.

Harvard also had to adjust to the referee’s style, who called few penalties and issued no cards, allowing for a physical game.

Harvard next plays at Hartford (4-4) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Hawks, who lost to Harvard in each of the past two NCAA tournaments, are coming off a huge upset victory over No. 5 California this weekend.

Harvard’s second game of the weekend is its second Ivy matchup. The Crimson travels to Philadelphia on Saturday to face off against Penn (5-4, 1-0), one of three teams that split last year’s Ivy title. The Quakers’ victory over Harvard last year was their first in scholl history.

—Contributing writer Evan Johnson can be reached at erjohns@fas.harvard.edu.