After topping the preseason-favorite United States Naval Academy 1-0 Friday, the Boston University women’s soccer team continued its streak in a 2-1 overtime victory against Harvard University Tuesday night after a second-half offensive push.
The win against Harvard (5-5-1) concluded BU’s (6-7-2, 4-0-1 Patriot League) out-of-conference play, and the win over Navy (8-4-3, 4-0-1 Patriot League) tied the Terriers with Colgate University for first place in the conference.
BU head coach Nancy Feldman said while Harvard is an outlier in conference season, the team was still out to win.
“We play to win every game, conference, non-conference,” Feldman said. “It’s how you play every game — we’re competitors.”
Both matches had late-game goals, with freshman midfielder Taylor Kofton supplying the game-winner against the Midshipmen in the 88th minute while sophomore forward Anna Heilferty’s 89th minute bend off a corner forced the Harvard match to overtime.
The Crimson broke the Terriers’ four-game shutout streak in the 12th minute off a shot from Harvard midfielder Leah Mohammadi, but freshman forward Lauren Adelman knocked in a goal for the Terriers six minutes into overtime and forced a 2-1 victory.
The team also saw senior midfielder Julianna Chen return to play against Navy, who missed nearly a month of play due to injury, and freshman defender Lily Perryman against Harvard, who had been out since BU’s second game of the season Aug. 19.
“[Chen] is a core player for us,” Feldman said. “… They missed a lot of time, so being able to give them a lot of time tonight and get them back in game shape and tempo and speed is hugely important moving forward.”
Perryman was among three starters and seven total freshmen players who saw time on the field against the Crimson.
After earning her first start of the season, junior midfielder Ann Marie Jaworski picked up her first point of the season off an assist on Adelman’s game-winner.
One player whose play Feldman highlighted was that of junior midfielder Chloee Sagmoe, who also made her first start and recorded two shots on goal in her season-high amount of time on the field.
According to Feldman, the brief break from conference play against Harvard gave the team a chance to rest players before its final Patriot League push and give more playing time to other players.
“We wanted to go into tonight’s game honing things in and playing the game we want to play,” Feldman said. “We knew Harvard is a very good team, so being able to possess the ball under pressure and building poise in confidence … we wanted to be able to adjust and adapt.”
BU outshot the Crimson 17-10, including 12 shots on goal, and held onto corners with an 8-2 differential.
The Terriers held an even tighter hold on the attack against Navy, where they held the team without a shot until the 35th minute and then outshot the Midshipmen 12-4.
The match stretched BU’s winning record against Navy to 7-2-0 and put the team at 46 consecutive conference wins at home, topping the NCAA.
Two goalkeepers collected over the matches: freshman Morgan Messner took on Navy while sophomore Amanda Fay faced Harvard, and both made three saves.
The Terriers’ final four games of the regular season are against Patriot League opponents, and Feldman said the team’s recent wins help put them in the right position.
“We have a tough one coming up against Loyola [University Maryland],” Feldman said, “so we wanted to give some people more experience and also rest up the kids who have been playing more minutes. [The match against Harvard] also allowed us to evaluate those players who haven’t been playing as much for when we’re in those tight, 1-0 conference games.”
