Harvard Earns Six Selections to All-Ivy League Team; Sheeleigh Honored on First Team

Pictured: Katherine Sheeleigh earned All-Ivy League first team honors.
Photo courtesy: David Silverman Photography

Complete Ivy League Release

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard women’s soccer team, the 2009 Ivy League champion, has earned six selections to the All-Ivy League team, the conference office announced Thursday afternoon. Forward Katherine Sheeleigh was named to the first team, while defender Lizzy Nichols, goalkeeper Lauren Mann, forward Melanie Baskind and defender Lindsey Kowal garnered second-team status. Midfielder Gina Wideroff was tabbed All-Ivy honorable mention.

Sheeleigh, a three-time All-Ivy League first-team honoree, led Harvard in scoring with eight goals and 21 points. A native of New Vernon, N.J., Sheeleigh netted four game-winning tallies and was tied for second on the Crimson with five assists. She scored twice in Harvard’s 2-1 win over Dartmouth Oct. 31, clinching Harvard’s second straight Ivy League title and automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. She was third in the Ivy League in points and was fourth in goals. Sheeleigh also earned recognition on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District third team this fall. She now ranks tied for seventh in program history with 22 career goals and stands ninth with 54 points.

A co-captain of the Crimson and finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, Nichols earned her fourth nod to the All-Ivy League team. An ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first-team selection, Nichols, who hails from Princeton, N.J., scored two goals this season, including the game winner on a penalty kick in the Crimson’s 3-2 victory over Penn Sept. 26.

Mann, a native of Encinitas, Calif., earned her fourth selection to the All-Ivy League team after posting a 9-6-1 record, while starting every game this season for the Crimson. She earned three shutouts, blanking New Hampshire Sept. 8, Holy Cross Sept. 29 and Brown Oct. 17. Mann, who stands third in program history with 280 saves, ranked third in the Ivy League with 59 saves and boasts a 1.36 goals-against average.

Baskind, who hails from Framingham, Mass., stood second on the Crimson with four goals, including two game-winning tallies, and 14 points. She led the team with six assists, tying her for second in the Ancient Eight. Baskind, who earned her second straight nod to the All-Ivy second team, netted two goals including the game winner in overtime at Columbia Nov. 7, helping Harvard clinch the outright Ivy League title. She also garnered a selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District third team.

One of the leaders of Harvard’s defensive corps, Kowal started all 14 games she appeared in this fall and assisted on the game-winning goal in the second half at Cornell Oct. 10. A native of East Meadow, N.Y., Kowal picked up her second consecutive All-Ivy selection after earning honorable mention as a freshman in 2008.

Wideroff, a co-captain of the team, assisted on game-winning goals at New Hampshire and at Cornell. She also found the back of the net with goals in wins against Fairfield Oct. 6 and Yale Oct. 20. A native of Boca Raton, Fla., Wideroff is a three-time All-Ivy choice and started all 15 games she appeared in.

Harvard, which finished the regular season 6-1 in the Ivy League and 9-6-1 overall, will face No. 7 Boston College in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament Friday at 4 p.m.