NEW YORK, N.Y.—The 2003 Harvard women’s soccer season was a roller coaster ride of ups and downs—the latter category characterized most of all by a slate of disappointing ties.

On Saturday, in its last game of the season, the Crimson reversed that trend and came out golden.

Sophomore Sara Sedgwick headed in a golden goal with four minutes left in the second overtime—in the game’s 106th minute overall—to give Harvard (6-5-5, 2-1-3 Ivy) a 2-1 win over Columbia (6-8-3, 1-4-2) and secure a winning record for the Crimson in the season’s final game.

It was a redemptive end for a team that had played in six other overtime games this season, going 0-1-5 and failing to score in 107 minutes of overtime play. After the game, players and coaches were visibly relieved, celebrating with family and friends on the field.

“We just had this trend of tying all these games,” said senior forward Alisa Sato, who tied the game herself in the 26th minute, just a minute after Columbia had taken a 1-0 lead. “So it’s a good turn of events for us.”

The game-winning goal came with 4:33 left in the second overtime when senior midfielder Katie Westfall lofted a corner kick toward the box. Sedgwick found a seam among the mass of players and headed the ball over Lions goalkeeper Erissa Aronson and into the back of the net.

The goal was Sedgwick’s first this season, but not the first game-winner of her career. On Oct. 26, 2002 against Princeton, Sedgwick, then a freshman, headed a Westfall corner into the goal in double overtime, ruining the Tigers’ perfect 12-0-0 record.

“I decided, ‘I’m going to try the same thing today. I hope it works,’” Sedgwick said following Saturday’s game. “So I just called for the ball just after it went off [Westfall’s] foot.”

The assist was Westfall’s second of the game, although she hadn’t practiced since hurting her knee against Princeton Oct. 25.

Westfall’s performance brought her career assist total to 32, tying her for second all-time with Naomi Miller ’99 in the Crimson record book. Emily Stauffer ’98-’99 holds the all-time record with 36.

Westfall’s 62 career points (15 goals, 32 assists) tie her for sixth in Harvard history.

After the win, Westfall reflected on the final game of her four-year career.

“People keep saying you are sad, but sadness doesn’t even describe it,” she said. “We’ve been playing for fifteen years and its over. Obviously we’d rather go out with a win, so it was great.”

Columbia scored the game’s first goal in the 25th minute, when Shannon Muñoz fed a deep cross to freshman Emma Judkins, who volleyed it into the goal for her first career tally.

But the Lions’ 1-0 lead did not last long, as Westfall touched the rebound of a Sedgwick shot off the crossbar to Sato, who finished it 1:35 after Judkins scored.