at Harvard 20apr2019

Warm, rainy weather greeted us on our trip to Cambridge. We had a late start but arrived in time for about 20 minutes of warm-up. 

We had 9 players from our fall roster, and welcome-guest players Kelly Zeilman '22 and Sara McClanahan '22 joined us. Izzy's sister Annie wanted to play, so we were delighted to include her. 

The wind was so fierce that it was able to move the goal on Harvard's Jordan (turf) Field, but Izzy's dad, Doug, found sand bags to hold it down!

Tina -- having just zoomed through the Boston Marathon in 3hr 14min (!) last Monday -- offered to play in goal to help her healing process, and Annie was our only sub!

Neither team could string together more than a few passes during the first 15 minutes, but Harvard got four corner kicks and two shots that Tina saved. Harvard seemed better than we had seen in the past. 

After about 20 minutes, we started to connect more passes, finding our own playing style amidst Harvard's quick pressure. It yielded a chance for Sarah J (SJ) in the 28th minute, whose shot went wide. 

Our defending was also better because every player stepped more quickly to pressure Harvard when they had the ball.

Five minutes before the end of the first half, Harvard had a shot go over our crossbar then another go wide, so it was clear they were still playing hard. 

At half-time we noted our team's turnaround and quick learning style -- connecting more passes, being quicker due to Harvard's immediate pressure and making more passes on the ground because of the strong winds. 

We suggested using the sides more, switching the attack from one side to the other and communicating more often. Also invoked was advice from Sir Stanley Matthews that "the most important players are the ones without the ball" and Pep Guardiola's that those are the players whose runs set up the next play.

We didn't waste any time showing our adaptability: Izzy had a free kick after only a couple minutes, after which Caroline scored with a perfect shot to the upper right corner of the Harvard goal.

SJ and Jenna had a shots saved before Sophia had one go wide and Annie had one go over Harvard's crossbar. We were showing our much-improved quickness and shorter, more-accurate passes in Harvard "traffic", aided immensely by Annie's speed, composure and ability to hold the ball high up Harvard's third of the field. 

We strung together several give-and-go passes to set up Annie for her goal in the 70th minute into the lower right side of the Harvard goal. She had another shot go wide just before Caroline's shot that was saved in the last minute of the game.

Playing so well against a good team was a perfect way to close out our spring games and to celebrate the contributions made by the six seniors on our team! 

G: Tina!
CD: Sarah A+Sara McClanahan
OD: Izzy+Kelly
CM: SJ+Sophia, Annie
OM: Jenna+Meredith S, Caroline
F: Nam+Caroline, Annie

Shots 9:3  Saves 2:3

13 Harvard corners (4)
15 Harvard shot saved by Tina
24 Harvard shot saved by Tina
28 SJ shot wide
35 Harvard shot over, another wide
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42 Izzy free kick
43 Caroline upper right 90 -> 1:0
46 SJ shot saved
53 Harvard free kick
58 Jenna shot saved
65 Sophia shot wide
66 Annie shot over
70 Annie shot lower right corner -> 2:0
78 Annie shot wide
79 Caroline shot saved