“The fact that I had the game winners [against Yale and Dartmouth] is not the important thing,” Johnson said. “They were both late goals, and there was a whole 90 minutes before them that paved the way. They were also both 2-1 games, so someone else scored first, and that gave me the chance to do my best for the team.”

An ever-present part of the squad, Johnson has played in all 16 games for the Crimson this season, starting in 15. Tied for third on the team with 13 points, Johnson has tallied four goals in total this season and three assists, two of which came in September’s 2-0 win over reigning Ivy League champs Penn.

That game, Harvard’s first conference match of the year, set the tone for the season as the Crimson has gone undefeated in league play (5-0-1) and undefeated in general play since Sept. 18.

“Peyton has a huge presence on the team,” Kowal said. “Not only does she play a position that controls the tempo of the game, but also her personality is addictive. She’s a very emotional player, which helps raise the level of our team … Her confidence is unparalleled.”

In anticipation of the season’s final Ivy League match-up at Columbia this Saturday, Johnson said that she and her teammates are going into the game in a unique position.

“It’s an interesting balance of a lack of pressure and complete pressure, because we’ve already secured the championship and the NCAA berth,” she said.

But despite their comfortable position, Johnson stated that Harvard will come out fighting on Saturday.

“We set the goal to be undefeated in the conference,” Johnson said.  “We have a chance to do that, and we’re definitely not resting on our laurels. Hopefully we finish undefeated, because [being] 6-0-1 would be awesome.”