Photo of Katherine Sheeleigh courtesy of DSPics.com.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Forward Katherine Sheeleigh scored her first goal of the season and provided all of the offense Harvard needed, as the Crimson women's soccer team topped New Hampshire, 1-0, in a non-conference game Tuesday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

Looking for its first win of the season, Harvard (1-1-1) wasted little time grabbing a lead as Sheeleigh poked in a rebound off her header to put the Crimson ahead at 3:18. Gina Wideroff was credited with an assist for crossing the ball into the box directly to Sheeleigh from 20 yards out. Sheeleigh headed the ball at UNH's Ally Yost, which the goalkeeper stopped, but the rebound bounced back to Sheeleigh, who fired with her right foot for the goal.

The Crimson enjoyed an 11-6 lead in shots, including 4-0 on goal, for the half and earned both corner kicks of the opening 45 minutes. The Wildcats' best scoring chance of the first half came with 46 seconds remaining. Kelly Mooney blasted a shot from 30 yards out, but the ball flew just over the crossbar and out of bounds.

After the break, Harvard came out firing, as Wideroff and Melanie Baskind each had shots saved by Yost early on in the second half. At 61:09, Caroline Albanese, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week, booted a shot from in front of Yost that missed the right post by inches. In the 67th minute, Lizzy Nichols took a free kick from 40 yards out that nearly gave the Crimson a 2-0 advantage, but the ball soared just over the UNH (1-3) cage.

The Crimson continued to control possession late in the game, resulting in a 15-7 advantage in shots during the second half. Five of those Harvard shots were on net, while the Crimson defense held the Wildcats to only a single shot on goal, a rocket from 30 yards out by Kelly Spencer at 82:59.

Mann earned her first win of the season, making one save, while Yost stopped eight Harvard shots. The Crimson outshot the Wildcats, 26-13, for the contest, and had a large advantage in corner kicks, 7-1, including 5-1 in the second half.

“It was great to get the result we did today,” said Harvard head coach Ray Leone. “We did some good, positive things as a team, but we need to move the ball faster going forward.”

Sheeleigh's goal marked the second straight season that she has scored the game-winning tally against the Wildcats, as she also found the back of the net in a 1-0 Harvard victory at UNH on Sept. 10, 2008.

Up next, the Crimson will host Long Beach State Friday, Sept. 11 at 1:30 p.m. That game will also be played at Ohiri Field.