With a full week of preparation behind it, the women’s soccer team heads out to Boston to take on Harvard (3-4-2, 1-1 Ivy) tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. The Red (4-3-2, 1-1 Ivy) looks to rebound from a 3-0 loss last Saturday against Penn at Berman Field. Without a midweek game to play this week, the booters were able to hold a team meeting to talk about the season.
“Because we had no game during the week, we got together, got some perspective, discussed what went well, what didn’t go well, and what we need to work on,” said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. “The other thing is we were able to give some people a little bit of rest in the beginning of the week, and then turn it up in terms of fitness.”
Last weekend, Penn capitalized on the Red’s mistakes and the absence of two of its seniors, netting two goals in the span of six minutes. Katy Cross, one of the best players in the league, scored the Quakers’ first goal, while Rachel Snyder found the back of the net twice off assists from Carolyn Cross.
“We made some critical mistakes about four or five times, and that ended up in three goals, so we’re trying to sure up those errors. You can’t give a phenomenal player like Katy Cross a chance to get in between your defenders and receive the ball,” Andeberhan said.
Another thing the team is working on in practice is avoiding the slow start, which was a problem in the team’s last two games. Normally, Andeberhan lets his squad warm up before the game by themselves, but he will introduce some new warm-ups before the game against Harvard.
“I suggested, if necessary, that I will warm the team up before a game. But my captains came up with an even better idea. They wanted me to suggest some more active, more competitive things, instead of the couple of things we tend to do,” Anderberhan said. “We’re casting aside a couple of our warm-up exercises, and getting a competitive exercise in there, so hopefully that helps.”
Last season against the Crimson, the Red came away with a 1-1 tie, but Andeberhan has described the “1-1 win” as the team’s best effort last season.
“Technically and tactically, we’re a little better this year. If we can replicate that level of intensity [from last year], we should have a good game,” Andeberhan said.
Harvard comes into tomorrow’s contest after winning its first Ivy game of the season against Yale. Alisha Morgan’s goal in the 31st minute proved to be all the offense the Crimson needed, as Harvard held on for the 1-0 win over the Bulldogs. Morgan and Emily Colvin each have two goals on the year. In goal, Katie Shields has posted a goals against average of 0.84 with two shutouts.
While the Crimson lacks a Katy Cross-type player, its starting 11 are solid throughout the lineup. However, the Red’s bench should be a big factor in the game.
“If we keep the game close, we will fare well because of our depth. I don’t think [Harvard] has that kind of depth. When they go to their bench, they drop to where we were in the past, but their first 11 are very good,” Andeberhan said. “Historically, I think you have to give them the edge, but I think we can compete well.”
Archived article by Jonathan Auerbach
Sun Staff Writer