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Harvard women’s soccer (2-3-2) returned to the pitch on Friday in a heated Charles River rivalry against the Boston University Terriers (3-3-1) before clashing with the New Hampshire Wildcats (1-3-3) in the Crimson’s final non-conference game before Ivy League play begins. In a fiercely contested match, Harvard earned an admirable 2-1 victory over Boston to land its first win of the season. The Crimson followed up its first win with another in a 3-2 win over New Hampshire.

Harvard 2, Boston 1

On a crisp evening under the lights, a sense of urgency and hope was in the air for the Crimson as it chased its first win of the season while defending home field. In its previous matches, Harvard struggled to finish and put matches away. Both teams arrived ready to compete for a win after a string of draws in the previous outings.

In the early minutes of the matchup, the intense possession battle between the Terriers and the Crimson set the tone for the pace of the game. Harvard carved out early opportunities in the first few minutes, attempting a few shots on goal, but could not capitalize on the possession advantages. Thus the game remained deadlocked through the first 15 minutes. This stalemate would not last much longer and neither would the balance of play tilted in the Crimson’s favor.

At the 20 minute mark, both teams were aggressive in the box, but Harvard committed a penalty with Boston in the hunt for a score. With the potential of an early deficit, Harvard placed its faith in Rhiannon Stewart, senior goalkeeper, to block the penalty kick. Senior midfielder Guilanna Gianino stepped up to kick for the Terriers. Despite Stewart making the correct guess on the direction and getting a hand on the ball, Gianino scored, placing Boston ahead, 1-0.

In the face of adversity, Harvard remained persistent and responded eight minutes later. Junior forward Anna Rayhill, received a phenomenal through ball from first year midfielder Elsa Santos López and raced up the right side of the field. After engaging the Boston goalkeeper towards the right side of the goal, Rayhill shot a ground ball back across to the left and into the bottom left corner of goal, tying the game and entering halftime, 1-1.

“This week we talked about the ability to come back from being down a goal. The team’s energy and determination allowed us to respond and for me to score,” said Rayhill.

Harvard started the second half with a newfound purpose against the Terriers. Within ten minutes of the second half, Harvard had multiple scoring opportunities, with Boston unable to gain any advantage up the pitch. The Crimson defensive output ultimately led to a corner kick on the offensive end. Junior midfielder Susie Long set up for the corner kick, while the entire team awaited the opportunity to capitalize.

“I always take a deep breath to try and put the ball in the right spot for someone to get their toe, foot, head, or something on it,” said Long.

Long gave the signal and then placed the ball in the air. As everyone rushed to make a play on the ball, first year midfielder Caroline Studebaker perfectly timed a header 2ft away from the goal into the bottom right side corner of the goal, scoring her first career goal. Harvard took the lead, 2-1, with 30 minutes of play remaining.

“It felt awesome to be able to contribute to our first win, especially on a set piece,” said Studebaker. “I give credit to Susie for the textbook service and to the team for generating the opportunity on the corner.”

With a little over 22 minutes left in the game, the Terriers were gifted the chance to tie the game. A free kick was awarded to Boston junior forward Ava Maguire on a controversial fall near the box. However, the ball was deflected by Harvard and created a quick transition for the Crimson. Ólöf Kristinsdóttir, junior forward and former Ivy League Rookie of the Year, led the push down the field. She centered the ball to senior forward Audrey Francois for a 1 on 1 with a Boston defender, but Francois was taken down by the goal and awarded a penalty kick. The anticipation swelled again for Harvard with the chance to take a commanding lead. As Francois kicked the ball towards the goal, the Terrier goalie anticipated incorrectly jumping to the right. The left side of the net was open for the goal, but Francois missed just left of the post.

As the game winded down, both teams were chippy with each other and the refs. Plenty of free kicks were drawn and cards were issued affirming the physicality of the game. Santos, a driving force of this physicality and fiery approach to the Crimson even as a first year noted that, “These games do not always appear the most fun and enjoyable because the joy is playing with the ball, but the defensive effort from the Crimson was the pivotal factor for the win”.

Harvard closed out Boston in a 2-1 victory and the tides are appearing to turn for the Crimson. The match created a defensive mentality Harvard can build on and hopefully continue to transfer into offensive opportunities up the pitch. Despite a rough start to the season, the Crimson have proved capable of weathering the storm and willing its way to a win. With incredible efforts from Stewart in the goal, along with a mix of Crimson players offensively and defensively, Harvard is gearing up for a strong back stretch to the season.

Harvard 3 New Hampshire 2

Harvard came out in control from the get-go, with Rayhill and Francios applying the pressure early for the Crimson, as they smoothly moved the ball down the field and tested the waters of the New Hampshire defense.

Despite their significant control of possession during the early minutes, the Wildcat defense held strong. The defensive dam looked poised to crack when Long placed a precise corner into the box, which was redirected by the head of Kristinsdóttir. However the striker had to work the ball around a host of Wildcats and sent the ball just left of the sidebar.

The tide started to shift toward the visiting team around the fifteenth minute when New Hampshire's senior midfielder Abbi Maier was awarded a penalty kick in the box. The penalty slipped past Stewart. 1-0 New Hampshire.

The Crimson kept the torrent of pressure on the Wildcat backline, despite being down a goal. Throughout the later portion of the first half, the Crimson continued to move the ball down the field with skill, and continued to shoot on the goal. One shot by Kristinsdóttir sent a wave of adrenaline though the crowd before it narrowly missed over the top of the goal.

Nearing the 30th minute, the game started to become choppy. First, New Hampshire's Ricshya Walker, a freshman forward, was awarded a yellow card after escalating the competitive pushing which was occurring between both teams. Later, after successfully moving the ball down to the Wildcat’s goalbox, a host of Crimson forwards and Wildcat backs became congested near the goal in a physical battle for the ball. During this tussle, sophomore forward Lauren Muniz was able to rise to the top and send the ball through the posts and make the game a 1-1 tie going into the half.

Coming out of halftime, the Crimson kept up the pressure and the game continued in a choppy fashion. Muniz got another foot on the ball and nearly missed the goal early in the second half. Long had a one on one goal opportunity but was roughed up by a defender next to her, without a call. Sophomore defender Erin Gordon sent a ball over the hands of the UNH goalie but it was barely rejected by the crossbar.

With only twenty minutes left in the game, the New Hampshire defensive dam finally seemed to be breaking. Two minutes later, a smooth series ended in Rayhill crossing to the middle and goal from Kristinsdóttir, her first goal since her long-term injury in 2023. 2-1 Crimson

The Wildcats tried to retaliate, but after a diving save by Stewart, the Crimson were back on offense with a surge of momentum carrying them. Not four minutes after their previous goal, junior forward Jasmine Leshnick sealed the game by firing a ground ball right by the bottom side of the right post and into the goal. 3-1 Crimson.

The Wildcats were able to secure a garbage time goal by Junior forward Jules Vano in the last five minutes, but the Crimson held the lead. The game ended 3 to 2. The 16 to 5 shot difference and 12 to 1 corner disparity both favored Harvard, and tell the story of the Crimson’s onslaught of offensive pressure.

Harvard returns to Jordan field to face off against the Dartmouth Big Green this Saturday, September 20th at 7:00 pm on ESPN+. This will be its first Ivy League opponent of the season.

– Staff writer Chandler Piggé can be reached at chandler.pigge@thecrimson.com

– Staff writer Jake C. Swanson can be reached at jake.swanson@thecrimson.co