CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Fresh off a victory in its match against Princeton last weekend, Harvard women's soccer now sets its sights on Cornell, who it is set to battle this weekend. The Crimson (3-4-2, 1-1-0 Ivy) will look to use this momentum to capture another three points in the Ivy League standings when it travels to Ithaca to battle the Big Red (3-3-4, 1-1-0 Ivy) on Saturday. The teams are set to clash at 12:00 PM on Saturday to kick off week three of the Ivy League campaign.
What to Know
The Matchup
Harvard and Cornell will square off for the 44
th time in series history this weekend in Ithaca. The Crimson hold a 31-3-9 advantage in the all-time series and a 14-2-5 mark on the Big Red's home turf. Harvard is unbeaten in its last 30 matches against the Ivy foe with the streak including seven consecutive Crimson victories. Under Coach Hamblin, the team is 7-0-1 in matches against the Big Red.
Last Time Out
Harvard women's soccer picked up a crucial three points this past weekend after defeating the Princeton Tigers at Jordan Field. Junior striker, Ólöf Kristinsdóttir, netted a pair of goals for the Crimson in the match that also saw the team shut out the Tigers thanks to great defensive play from the backline of
August Hunter,
Jasmine Leshnick and Amy König and two saves from
Rhiannon Stewart. It was the team's second clean sheet of the season and brought them its first win in league play.
Scouting the Big Red
Cornell enters the contest with a 3-3-4 record that includes a few impressive results. The Big Red opened the season with a 0-0 draw against Boston College before posting back-to-back victories over Colgate and La Salle. In league action, the group narrowly fell to Columbia, 1-2, to open the season before defeating the Yale Bulldogs this past weekend. Statistically, the Big Red are being outscored by its opponents 8-11 on the year but are outshooting foes, 110-101. Two Cornell players, Sydney Allen and Alanna Colbert, hold two goals on the season and are in a tie for the team lead. Samantha Qureshey leads the goaltending duties for the Tigers and owns a 1.22 GAA and a .750 save percentage in nine games played.
Individual History Against the Big Red
Five members of the Crimson own points against Cornell in their career with four players recording goals against the Big Red.
Audrey Francois has been a thorn in the side of Cornell over the years, scoring three goals and notching an assist to total seven career points against the foe. The senior has scored a goal in every game she has played against Cornell.
Jasmine Leshnick, Ólöf Kristinsdóttir and Írena Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez have all also scored goals and
Anna Rayhill owns an assist in the series.
On the Stat Sheet
- Ólöf Kristinsdóttir leads the team with three goals on the year.
- Jasmine Leshnick and Lauren Muniz each own two goals on the season.
- Elsa Santos Lopez ranks second in the Ivy League with four assists.
- Harvard ranks 20th in the nation by averaging 6.78 corner kicks per game.
- The Crimson is outshooting opponents 110-89 this season.
Milestone Watch
- Rhiannon Stewart recorded her eighth career shutout against the Tigers and stands two away from reaching 10 in her career.
- Ólöf Kristinsdóttir scored her 10th and 11th career goals in the match against the Tigers and is just one point shy of reaching 25 career points.
- Audrey Francois owns 23 career points, just two shy of the 25-point mark.
Up Next
Harvard will play another road contest next weekend against the Yale Bulldogs. The rivals are set to battle on Sunday (Oct. 12) at 3:00 PM in New Haven with all the action streaming live on ESPN+.
