CAMBRIDGE, Mass – After a month-long road stretch, the Harvard women's soccer team will finally return to Jordan Field this weekend to play host to Columbia in what should be another exciting Ivy League matchup. The Crimson (4-1-4, 0-1-0 Ivy) will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon when it takes on the Lions (3-3-3, 1-0-0 Ivy) in a rematch of the 2023 Ivy League Tournament Championship match.
Chris Hamblin, The Branca Family Head Coach for Harvard Women's Soccer and his group are looking to bounce back after a narrow loss to Brown last weekend while the Lions are looking to secure their third consecutive victory when it travels to Cambridge this Saturday.
WHAT TO KNOW
Looking to Bounce Back
- The Crimson suffered its first losing result of the season to Brown on Saturday, falling 2-1 to the Bears after a highly competitive tilt on the pitch in Providence.
- Harvard got its lone goal from Anna Rayhill early in the second half and three saves from starting goalkeeper Rhiannon Stewart.
- The group has responded well to losses under Coach Hamblin, recording an 18-7-2 mark after a loss in his tenure. That mark improves to 4-1-1 since the 2020 season.
- More specifically, the Crimson is 13-2-0 all-time when facing Columbia coming off a losing result.
The Matchup
- Harvard and Columbia are set to meet on the pitch for the 39th time in series history this weekend. The Crimson owns a significant lead in the all-time series, currently owning a 32-3-3 advantage in the all-time register.
- Harvard is unbeaten against Columbia in the past 16 matches, owning a 14-0-2 record dating back to the 2008 season.
- Last season, the Crimson claimed two victories over the Lions, a 2-0 victory in the regular season and a 3-0 win in the Ivy League Tournament Championship game.
- Josefine Hasbo has been a nuisance to the Lions in her career. The senior owns five career goals and two career assists against the Lions to total 12 points the most against any opponent in her career.
- Two other student-athletes, Jade Rose (2) and Anna Rayhill (1), own points off assists in their careers against the Lions.
In the Rankings
- The Crimson comes into the match against Columbia with an RPI rank of 78 through nine games played.
- Rhiannon Stewart ranks inside the top 50 nationally in save percentage (.837).
- Nicola Golen's shot accuracy of .632 ranks no. 23 in the nation.
Harvard Highlights
- Josefine Hasbo leads the team with 11 points and five goals on the season.
- Áslaug Gunnlaugsdóttir and Lauren Muniz are tied for second on the team with two goals.
- Írena Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez has recorded an assist in back-to-back matches for the Crimson.
- August Hunter has been the rock of the Harvard defense, playing every minute of every game for the Crimson.
- Rhiannon Stewart has also played all 810 minutes this season between the posts.
- The Crimson is outscoring opponents 15-8 on the season.
Scouting Columbia
- The Lions come into the matchup with the Crimson owning a record of 3-3-3 and an RPI ranking of 105.
- Columbia is coming off back-to-back wins against Providence (Sep. 20) and Penn (Sep. 28). Both victories came by a wide margin as well, as the Lions put up four goals on the Friars and three goals on the Quakers while not conceding a single goal in the contests.
- Its other positive results came against Fordham (W, 2-0), Farleigh Dickinson U. (T, 0-0) and Hofstra (T, 0-0).
- The Lions are outscoring opponents 14-11 on the season and are outshooting their foes, 106-81.
- Senior forward, Nata Ramirez, leads the team offensively with 13 points, five goals and three assists.
- Senior Lauren Rodriguez leads the goaltending effort for the Lions and has started every game this season. She has allowed only 11 goals and has made 22 saves on the season to record three shutout efforts.
Up Next
Harvard will travel to Dartmouth next Wednesday (Oct. 9) for a midweek clash before returning to Jordan Field to play host to the Cornell Big Red next Sunday (Oct. 13).
