Harvard Closes Out Regular Season at Columbia, Looks to Clinch Sole Possession of Ivy Title

Pictured: Christina Hagner and the Crimson earned the Ivy League's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
Photo courtesy: David Silverman Photography

Live Statistics
Ivy League Standings
Sheeleigh Named Ivy League Player of the Week

The Particulars:
Last week, the Harvard women’s soccer team clinched at least a share of its second straight Ivy League title and earned its second consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 win over Dartmouth at Ohiri Field. The Crimson stands 8-6-1 overall and 5-1 in the Ivy League, as the team has won its ninth Ancient Eight title. Columbia, meanwhile, is tied for third in the Ivy League standings with Princeton with a 3-2-1 mark and owns a 7-6-3 overall record.

Follow From Home:
Once again, live statistics will be available for all Harvard home games and most road contests this season.

Series History:
After dropping two straight games to the Lions in 2006-07, Harvard earned a 2-1 double-overtime victory against Columbia a year ago. With nine seconds remaining in the second extra session, Lizzy Nichols converted a penalty kick, clinching the Ivy League title and NCAA berth for the Crimson. Overall, Harvard owns a 19-3-1 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1986.

About Harvard:
Last time out, the Crimson came back from an early 1-0 deficit to defeat Dartmouth, 2-1, Oct. 31. Katherine Sheeleigh scored both Harvard goals, coming at 19:06 and 86:06, while Lauren Mann earned her eighth win of the season, making four saves.

With eight goals and four assists, Sheeleigh paces the Crimson in scoring with 20 points and also leads the team with four game-winning tallies. Melanie Baskind ranks second with 10 points (two goals, six assists), while Gina Wideroff (two goals, two assists) is third with six points. Mann has started every game and is 8-6-1 with three shutouts and a 1.39 goals-against mark. Harvard is outscoring opponents, 23-21, overall, including 11-9 in the first half.

About Columbia:
The Lions are coming off a 1-0 win over Yale at Columbia Soccer Stadium last weekend. In that contest, Lindsay Danielson and Lillian Klein combined for the shutout with Klein making two saves. Sophie Reiser notched the game’s only goal, coming at 36:01. Reiser (seven goals, four assists) is tied for the Columbia lead in points with Ashlin Yahr (eight goals, two assists) with 18 points. Yahr has tallied three game-winning scores, while Reiser has two game winners to her credit. In goal, Klein has seen most of the action and is 5-5-2 with three shutouts and a 1.31 goals-against average. Danielson, meanwhile, owns a 2-1-1 record with a 1.34 goals-against mark.

She’s Honored:
With her two-goal effort against Dartmouth Saturday, Katherine Sheeleigh was named the Ivy League Player of the Week. Sheeleigh leads the Crimson in scoring this season with 20 points on eight goals and four assists and now stands tied for seventh in program history with 22 goals and ninth with 53 points.

Around the Ivy League:
In other Ancient Eight games Saturday, Penn hosts Princeton, while Cornell travels to Dartmouth and Yale welcomes Brown to New Haven, Conn.

Up Next:
Harvard will learn its opponent for the opening round of the 2009 NCAA tournament during the national selection show, to be aired on ESPNews Monday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.