PROVO, Utah – The 2023 Harvard women's soccer season has come to a close after the Crimson fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to the Michigan State Spartans, 1-0. The storybook season for the Crimson (13-4-2, 5-1-1 Ivy) was closed after the narrow defeat in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The battle between the Crimson and the Spartans was decided on a penalty kick in the 50^th minute, that Crimson goalkeeper Anna Karpenko nearly tipped wide of the net. Harvard continued to pressure Michigan State's backline for the final twenty minutes of the game but had a number of attempts miss by narrow margins as the score would remain 1-0 at the end of the 90 minutes.
 
The 2023 Ivy League Tournament Champion, Harvard women's soccer, goes down as one of the best groups in recent memory after a 13-win campaign and another deep run into the postseason.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Crimson and the Michigan State Spartans met on the women's soccer pitch for the first time in history at South Field in Provo, Utah for their second round NCAA Tournament clash.
• From the first touch, both sides refused to give an inch, fighting for possession and position on every ball played past the midline. The Crimson defense set the tone for the team early, blocking two early Spartan chances in dangerous areas.
• Michigan State would take five corner kicks in the first 45 minutes and had all their set pieces blown up by Harvard's defense as all five opportunities resulted in no shots on target.
• The Crimson's best chance to score came in the final minute of the first half after Smith Hunter made a great run into the box, causing chaos on the Spartan backline. Susie Long, Anna Rayhill and Hannah Bebar all had looks inside the 18 get blocked in the final seconds.
• Shot attempts at the end of the period may have read 7-6 in favor of Michigan State, but those seven shots never got close to goalkeeper Anna Karpenko. The Crimson held the advantage in shots on goal, 2-0, after 45 minutes.
• The Spartans got on the board early in the second half after converting on a penalty kick in the 50^th minute of play.
• After the Spartans scored, the Crimson made a series of strong plays to try and get momentum back on its side. Gabby DelPico had a series of great looks in the second half, none better than her shot that sailed just inches wide of the far post in the 63^rd minute.
• Bebar, DelPico, Long and Olof Kristinsdottir all had looks turned away or sail wide in the final ten minutes of play as the Crimson went down swinging in the close 1-0 defeat.