CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For the second consecutive year the path to the College Cup will begin in Cambridge for the Harvard Crimson women's soccer program. The Crimson (12-3-2, 5-1-1. Ivy) will host the Maine Black Bears (11-1-6, 4-1-3 America East) in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship this weekend at Jordan Field. Harvard, the 2023 Ivy League Tournament Champion, received an automatic bid to the tournament and was slotted as a four-seed in its quadrant.
 
The 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship is set to begin this weekend with 32 matches taking place from Friday through Sunday. The Crimson and the Black Bears will square off on Saturday (Nov. 11) at 5:00 PM at Jordan Field and on ESPN+.
 

THE MATCHUP

Opponent: University of Maine Black Bears (11-1-6, 4-1-3 America East)
Series History: Harvard leads 5-1-1
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: Jordan Field
Stream: ESPN+
Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for children and students
 

MATCH NOTES

 
THE STAGE IS SET
For the third consecutive season, Harvard women's soccer will appear in the NCAA Tournament after securing an automatic bid to the field. The 2023 Ivy League Tournament champion, the Crimson will host the University of Maine Black Bears at Jordan Field in the first round of the Tournament this Saturday.
 
RETURN TO THE BIG DANCE
Harvard is set to make its 19th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and third straight year. The Crimson has made the most NCAA appearances of any Ivy League school. This will be Harvard's first appearance as an automatic bid since 2016, as the squad earned at-large selection in 2022 and 2021.
 
NCAA RESULTS
Harvard has posted a 10-17-1 record in NCAA Championship play. In its last appearance in 2022, the Crimson fell to South Carolina, 3-2, in the second round. Harvard last hosted a first-round matchup in 2022 when it topped New Hampshire, 2-0, in Cambridge.
 
IVY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
Harvard was crowned the Ivy League Tournament champion this past weekend after defeated No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Columbia to secure the trophy. Harvard defeated Princeton and Columbia 4-2 and 3-0 respectively over the weekend. Josefine Hasbo was named the tournament's most outstanding player while Hannah Bebar, Gabby DelPico and Anna Karpenko landed on the All-Tournament Team.
 
SERIES WITH MAINE
Harvard owns a 5-1-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Black Bears dating back to the 1991 season. The Crimson last met the Bears on the pitch in 2018, a contest that resulted in a 1-0 win for Maine.

HASBO HAT-TRICK
Junior midfielder Josefine Hasbo led the Crimson to a victory over Columbia in the Ivy League Tournament Championship with three goals to notch her second career hat-trick. It was the most goals scored in a game by a single Harvard player this season and the most since Hasbo's hat-trick in the season opener last season vs. CCSU (Aug. 25). Josie earned the tournament's most outstanding player award along with TopDrawerSoccer's National Player of the Week honor.
 
LEADING THE ATTACK
Hasbo leads the Crimson with 24 points in 14 games played this season. She has tallied at least one points in 11 of the 14 games she has played in and is currently riding a three-game goal-scoring streak. Gabby DelPico (6g, 7a, 19p) is in a close second and leads the team in assists. DelPico is also riding a three-game point streak. Ólöf Kristinsdóttir (8g, 2a, 18p) is the team's second leading scorer and has been dominant in the forward no. 9 position for Harvard.
 
LOCKING IT UP
Harvard's defense has smothered opposing offenses this season, allowing only 44 shots on goal, the third lowest in the nation. Only Florida State - The 2023 NCAA Tournament's No. 1 Overall seed - and UCLA - The defending National Champion have fewer. Both programs have only allowed 39 shots on goal this season to lead the nation.
 
HIGHEST SEED IN HISTORY
Harvard secured a four-seed in this year's tournament, the highest in program history since seeding began after the 2000 season. The Crimson earned a slot higher than its previous best, which was a six seed in 2022.
 
IVY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
First-year forward Ólöf Kristinsdóttir earned Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors after a seven-goal regular season in 2023. Kristinsdóttir became the 15th Crimson student-athlete to earn the Rookie of the Year award and the second in three seasons (Hannah Bebar – 2021). The Icelandic standout played in all 15 games this season, totaling 16 points with her seven goals and two assists.
 
IVY LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Junior defender and team captain, Jade Rose earned the Ivy League's Defensive Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season. Rose is still the only player to earn the honor in Ivy League history (award began in 2022). The captain started in all 12 games she played in this season, scoring one goal and adding three assists to total five points on the year offensively. Rose led a Harvard defensive unit that allowed opponents only 6.3 shots per game and 41 shots to reach Harvard's net all season. Her efforts contributed to six Harvard shutouts in 2023. The Canadian was also unanimously chosen to the All-Ivy First-Team for the third time in her career, becoming the 11th player in program history to earn three All-Ivy League First-Team honors.
 
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY LEAGUE
Jade Rose, Josefine Hasbo and Hannah Bebar were named to the All-Ivy League First Team after their remarkable regular seasons. It was the third straight year Harvard had three or more selections to the league's first team. Bebar and Rose became the 11th and 12th players in program history to be selected to three All-Ivy First Teams. Hasbo, a Second-Team selection in 2022 and an Honorable Mention selection in 2021, received her first appointment to the First Team.
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY LEAGUE
Three players from Harvard earned Second-Team All-Ivy distinctions in 2023. Smith Hunter, Anna Karpenko and the league's Rookie of the Year, Ólöf Kristinsdóttir. 
 
IVY TEAM STAtS
As a team in the Ivy League rankings, Harvard ranks first in assists per game (2.67), corners per game (6.13), points per game (7.73), scoring offense (2.53), shots on goal per game (8.00) and shots per game (16.87).
 
TEAM DEFENSE
As a team, Harvard has posted seven shutouts – including in four Ivy games – on the season and notched a 1.12 GAA. In Ivy play, the Crimson allowed just six goals over seven games for a 0.86 GAA. Harvard has compiled clean sheets in five of its last ten contests.
 
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
Harvard has scored three or more goals in nine games this year and tallied multiple goals in 13 of 17 contests this season. The Crimson has outscored its opponents 45-19 on the year and outshot its opponents 285-112. Harvard held a 15-6 goals edge and 118-46 shot advantage in Ivy League play.
 
SUCCESS STREAKS
At home, the Crimson has registered a 6-1-1 record on the season and a 31-8-2 mark since 2018. The Crimson has had similar success on the road, posting a 21-4-5 mark away from Jordan Field since 2019.
 
DOMINANT AT HOME
The Harvard offense has lit up the scoreboard at Jordan Field since the 2018 season, outscoring opponents 63-21 on its home turf. In the last ten matchups, Harvard owns a 31-7 advantage over its opponents and that increases to a 44-10 advantage in the last 16 contests.
 
IT'S NOT HOW YOU START
The Crimson went unbeaten in its final eight matches of the season , marking the fourth consecutive season that the club has posted an unbeaten streak of six games or longer. The Crimson overcame a two-game losing streak - its first since the 2018 season - to go on the run.
 
THE DEFENDERS
Junior defender Jade Rose earned a spot on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week on Oct.10. She has also scored a goal to go along with a trio of assists this season. Her back-line teammate, August Hunter has had a stellar sophomore year, leading the team in minutes played with 1,518. Her sister, Smith Hunter, is second among field players with 1,348 minutes played. Taylor Fasnacht - who scored her first goal of the season in the final contest against Yale - completes the Crimson's starting back-four.
 
SHARING IS CARING
Seven members of the Crimson have scored three or more goals in 2023, the most in the Ivy League and two more than the next highest total of five. Additionally, eight Harvard players have registered three or more assists which is three more than the next closest Ivy League team (5).
 
CONSISTENT SUCCESS
The Crimson has posted twelve or more wins in four consecutive years and in five of the seven seasons under Chris Hamblin. Additionally, Harvard is back in the top 25 of the RPI Poll for the third consecutive year.
 
IN the polls
Harvard rose the TopDrawerSoccer National Polls this past week, moving up to no. 10 in the nation. The Crimson also climbed up to no. 11 in the RPI poll, its highest ranking of the 2023 season. The Ivy League finished the 2023 season ranked the second-strongest conference in the nation in terms of RPI. Four Ivy League teams made the NCAA Tournament field this year for the first time since 2001 and for only the third time in conference history.
 
OFF THE BENCH
The Crimson has gotten major contributions from its bench in 2023, especially in the attacking third. First-years Susie Long and Jasmine Leshnick have both come off the bench to play valuable minutes for the Crimson. Long's speed, footwork and left-footed shot on the wing make her dangerous on outside runs. Leshnick's play-making ability in the middle has led to several highlight reel goals in 2023. Sophomore Audrey Francois and first-year Anna Rayhill also have contributed to the attack off the bench. Francois (3g, 1a, 7p) has seen action in all 17 contests and Anna Rayhill (14 games played) just picked up her first career assist in the Ivy League Championship against Columbia.
 
THE HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL
Jasmine Leshnick has only scored four goals in her collegiate career, three of which have been stellar. Her bicycle kick strike against Dartmouth was the No. 1 play on the SportsCenter Top 10 plays. The goal has been viewed over three million times across all platforms.