Women's soccer maintains control of Ivy fate after tie with Harvard

Saturday, October 15

Providence, R.I.

1:00 p.m.

Brown University

8-2-2, 3-0-1

Harvard

8-1-3, 2-0-2

Harvard

Brown

Photo by: Chip DeLorenzo

Women's soccer maintains control of Ivy fate after tie with Harvard

10/15/2022 4:23:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown women's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw against Harvard Saturday afternoon at Stevenson-Pincince Field.

Brittany Raphino scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 22^nd minute, but the Crimson would equalize in the 75^th to earn the tie. With the draw, Brown moves to 8-2-2 on the year and 3-0-1 in Ivy League action, while Harvard is now 8-1-3 and 2-0-2. The Bears remain at the top of the Ivy table with the result.

"We knew this game was going to be a battle," head coach Kia McNeill said. "So, walking away with a tie is a great result. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Harvard and I think they have a tremendous amount of respect for us and what we've been able to do this season.

"They have some special players up top and they threw everything they could at us. I thought we did well, for the most part, defending their key players and trying to stay in front and block shots as best we could."

Raphino's goal came after Jessica Hinton played a long ball down the center of the field that a Harvard defender ended up clearing straight back to Raphino. She was able to take one touch around that same defender and get a clean shot off that rocketed its way into the back of the net from a step inside the 18.

In the second half, Harvard was able to sustain pressure in their offensive third for large stretches of time. The Crimson took 13 shots in the second half alone, and finally got one to fall. The chance seemed to materialize out of nowhere as a shot from 25 yards out sailed into the goal over the outstretched arms of Bella Schopp.

At every other Harvard opportunity, Schopp and the Bears defense were up to the task. On the day, Schopp made a career-high six saves and the defense held the Crimson to below their season average of both shots and shots on goal per game.

"I really like to have the defense work together and be on the same page as each other," Schopp said. "Being comfortable with the ball at our feet and being able to work it around is huge. I think sometimes it's easy to get really hyped up and kick the ball forward too quickly, so I just try to calm everyone down and get us to pass the ball around."

While the Bears' defensive unit had a strong day as whole, the play of freshman Naya Cardoza stood out. She made a number of impressive, one-on-one and sliding stops that eliminated Crimson scoring chances before they could become quality looks.

"Naya is awesome," Schopp said. "She made a bunch of super impressive and game-changing slide tackles. She is such a consistent player and I love having her in my back line."

With the tie, the Bears control their own fate as they seek a three-peat. With games remaining against Cornell, Penn, and Yale, a win in all three would guarantee Brown a third straight outright Ivy title.

Before the final stretch of Ivy games, the Bears will play their last nonconference game of the regular season at home this Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. against Stonehill.

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