Women’s Soccer Takes Sole Possession of First Place with 4-2 Win at Harvard

Saturday, October 19

Cambridge, MA

3:00 PM

Brown University

10-1-1, 4-0-0Ivy

Harvard University

10-3-0, 3-1-0Ivy

Brown

Harvard

Women’s Soccer Takes Sole Possession of First Place with 4-2 Win at Harvard

10/19/2019 8:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior Celia Story, junior Star White, sophomore Rebecca Rosen, and freshman Brittany Raphino all scored goals as Brown University women's soccer ran past Harvard University, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

In a matchup featuring the top two teams – and only remaining unbeaten teams – in the Ivy League standings entering the weekend, the Bears (10-1-1, 4-0-0 Ivy) claimed sole possession of first place in the conference, building a 4-1 lead early in the second half on the host Crimson (10-3-0, 3-1-0 Ivy).

"I'm proud of the team and the way they executed our game plan," Brown head coach Kia McNeill said. "We wanted to pin Harvard's backs into their half, and that's exactly what we did. Having four different goal scorers continues to show the depth of our team and how dangerous we are in the final third."

Brown – ranked No. 5 in the NCAA RPI and No. 13 in the Top Drawer Soccer Rankings – snapped a seven-match win streak for Harvard (No. 40 RPI) and became the first team to score on the Crimson in Ivy League play this season.

Continuing their best season since 1984 and best Ivy start since 1994, the Bears earned back-to-back road victories at Harvard for the first time since claiming consecutive road victories over the Crimson in 1988 and 1990. Brown won at Harvard in 2017 behind a 1-0 decision.

"There was a lot riding on this game given the fact that both teams were 3-0 and tied for first – with both teams capable of scoring and neither team conceding many goals," McNeill said. "The result continues to show how dominant our team is, and the scary thing is we can continue to get better from here."

The Bears struck early and late in the first half with Rosen (Port Washington, N.Y.) scoring in the fifth minute and Story (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) finding the back of the net in the 45^th minute. White (Norfolk, Va.) and Raphino (Randolph, Mass.) scored 17 seconds apart in the 58^th minute, staking the Bears to their 4-1 edge early in the second half.

White notched her third game-winning goal of the season and her second game winner in Ivy League play. She netted her fourth goal of the year and 14^th career goal. White now has 10 points on the season and has posted at least 10 points in each of her first three years at Brown.

Raphino – recently ranked the No. 24 freshman in the nation according to Top Drawer Soccer – notched her fifth goal of the year and second goal in Ivy play. She leads the team with five goals on the season and ranks second with 12 points.

Rosen netted her first goal of the season and the fifth goal of her career while Story netted her second goal of the year and the 13^th goal of her career as she made her first appearance since Sept. 22 due to injury.

Senior Abby Carchio (Lakeville, Mass.) distributed a pair of assists in the game, marking the fourth time in her career that she has handed out two assists in a match. Her first two assists of the year increased her career assist total to 16.

Freshman Ava Seelenfreund (Truckee, Calif.) tallied an assist – her team-high fifth of the season. She paces the Bears with 13 points on the year.

Rosen started the scoring at the 4:25 mark, rising up inside the goal area to head home a corner kick from the left side off the foot of Carchio.

Story gave the Bears a 2-1 lead at the half, netting a goal at 44:39 – with 21 seconds left in the period. She capitalized on a loose ball just inside the penalty area, firing a shot into the goal with the goalkeeper off her line.

White extended Brown's advantage to 3-1 at 57:16. After Carchio played a long free kick into the box, Seelenfreund headed the ball down, and White seized the opportunity to slide a shot past the keeper from inside the goal area.

Just 17 seconds later – at 57:33 – Raphino moved the Bears ahead 4-1. After sophomore Zoe Maxwell (Irvington, N.Y.) played a long through ball past the Crimson's back line to Raphino, the striker's initial bid was blocked before her second attempt found the back of the net.

Harvard's Angela Caloia scored in the 20^th minute, slotting home a free kick from Gabby DelPico. The Crimson's Cammie Dopke added a late goal in the 89^th minute, heading in a corner kick from DelPico.

For the match, Brown held advantages in shots (19-16) and shots on goal (12-7) while the two teams stood tied in corner kicks (5-5).

Brown junior goalkeeper Kayla Thompson (Austin, Texas) made five saves while Harvard netminder Kat Hess registered eight saves.

Next, Brown hosts Vermont in a non-conference game on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+) before returning to Ivy League play at Cornell on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1:30 p.m. (ESPN+).

Video of all Brown women's soccer home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.