CAMBRIDGE, Mass – For the second consecutive season, Harvard women's soccer has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The fourth-seeded Crimson (13-3-2, 5-1-1 Ivy) earned a spot in the round of 32 next week after a 3-0 win over the University of Maine in convincing fashion. The Crimson offense propelled the victory, using three first half goals to build the lead. The defensive backline of
Jade Rose, Amy Konig and
August Hunter took care of the rest in front of sophomore goalkeeper,
Denver Tolson, who led the team to the clean sheet.
Josefine Hasbo scored her sixth goal in the last four games to lead the way while
Hannah Bebar and
Anna Rayhill also chipped in with goals in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Harvard hosted the University of Maine at Jordan Field Saturday night for a matchup in the first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. It was the second straight season the Crimson hosted a first-round contest.
- The Crimson got to work early in the contest, scoring a goal just eight minutes into the game. The strike came off the foot of Josefine Hasbo, who hammered home the shot off a great touch from Hannah Bebar.
- Harvard kept its foot on the gas pedal, recording five more shots in the next 20 minutes of play. In the 24th minute of action, Bebar got on the scoresheet herself, bending a great shot to the top left corner to beat the keeper and put the Crimson up 2-0.
- In the final stretch of the half, Coach Hamblin sent in first-year forward Anna Rayhill, who came off and scored her first career goal in just five minutes of play time. The Crimson lead stretched to 3-0 as the half came to an end.
- Sophomore goalkeeper, Denver Tolson, made one save in her first career start to keep the sheet clean after 45 minutes.
- The Crimson did not slow down after the halftime break, as Ólöf Kristinsdóttir and Hasbo both put shots on net in the first ten minutes. The Maine keeper managed to get a hand on both shots to keep the score at 3-0.
- Harvard continued the pressure for the remainder of the game, putting four more shots on target in the game, but could not find the twine. It did not much matter, as Tolson and the Harvard defense locked up Maine in the second half as the team ran away with a 3-0 victory.
- Harvard picked up a win in the NCAA Tournament first round for the second consecutive year as the Crimson now advance to the round of 32 next week.
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS
- Josefine Hasbo scored the first goal of the game for the Crimson, her sixth goal in the last four games, to increase her season total to 10. Hasbo became the third Harvard player to reach the ten-goal milestone in the past six seasons, joining Angela Caloia '23 (2021) and Margaret "Midge" Purce '16 (2016).
- Hannah Bebar added another goal to her season register, the sixth of the year for the junior.
- Anna Rayhill netted her first career goal, the final tally of the game for the Crimson, in the first half.
- Bebar added an assist in the contest to finish with a game-high three points.
- Gabby DelPico improved her point streak to four games with another assist tonight.
- Denver Tolson made her first career start in goal tonight for the Crimson, earning her first career clean sheet after making two saves.
- Harvard outshot Maine 11-2 in the match.
UP NEXT
Harvard now moves into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where it will meet the Michigan State Spartans. The Crimson and the Spartans will meet on the women's soccer pitch for the first time in program history on Thursday night when the sides square off in Provo, Utah on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) at 4:00 PM.
