Women’s Soccer Remains on the Road to Face BU, Alabama

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's soccer has two more road tests ahead as it faces crosstown rival Boston University on Thursday, September 3 at 6:00 p.m. ET and Alabama on Sunday, September 6 ET in Tuscaloosa. Last Time Out - The Crimson cruised to a 4-0 win over Fairfield for its first win of the season before tying Syracuse last week. - Against the Stags, the Crimson stormed ahead early with two goals coming in the first seven minutes of play. - Jasmine Leshnick delivered the first strike off a Crimson corner for her second goal in as many games. Brooke Huleatt added another goal just a few minutes later to put the Crimson up two. - The two goals were the fastest two goals scored by the Crimson in a game since 2015. - Harvard went on to score twice more as Molly Vana and Camila Reinaldo each recorded their first career goals. - In goal, Nicole Bidun and Olivia Busby shared duties and combined for the clean sheet while each making two saves. - Then on Sunday, the Crimson battled with ACC foe Syracuse to a scoreless draw. - Harvard finished with an 18-16 advantage in shots and generated nine corner kicks to Syracuse's six but ultimately couldn't capitalize for a goal. - Bidun and Busby again combined for a clean sheet and six saves. Busby made four saves in the second have including denying Syracuse's Vickie Jones' penalty kick in the 89th minute to preserve the draw. - Following last week's results, the Crimson sit at 1-2-1 on the year. Starting Fast - In its first two matches last week, the Crimson successfully generated offense early. - Against UMass, Ólöf Kristinsdóttir tallied the first two goals of the game in just 13 minutes of action. - Kristinsdóttir became the fastest player to score two goals in a single game since Midge Purce '17 did so against Yale in 2015. - Then against Fairfield, the Crimson scored three of its first four goals less than 17 minutes into the game. - Harvard's first two goals came within the first seven minutes to mark the fastest two goals in program history since that same Yale game in 2015. Player of the Week - With two goals and an assist in a three-match week last week, Jasmine Leshnick was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week. - It was the first weekly honor for the Crimson 2026 as well as the first of Leshnick's career. First Impressions - The Crimson's freshmen class has played a strong role on the pitch already this season. - Brooke Huleatt has the most points of any Harvard player through four games after generating two goals and two assists in 174 minutes played. - Molly Vana and Camila Reinaldo both had collegiate firsts last week by scoring against Fairfield. - Claire Kessenger and Lou Ruffien will be consistent contributors throughout the season having already made several appearances and starts this year. - Olivia Busby and Nicole Bidun, both newcomers, have looked strong early as they've split goalkeeping duties. Scouting the Terriers - The Terriers have gone 2-3 through their first five matches to start the season. - After dropping its first match of the year 1-0 to Northeastern, Boston University bounced back with a 5-1 win over UAlbany. - Most recently, BU picked up its second win with a 3-1 defeat of San Francisco. - Jaiden Schultz leads the Terrier offense with seven points off three goals and one assist and has five shots on goal. - Bridget Carr and Jill Humphreys have split the goalkeeping duties this season. Carr has eight saves in two starts while Humphreys has nine save through three starts. Scouting the Crimson Tide - Alabama has started its season undefeated, going 6-0 with ranked wins over No. 21 Memphis and No. 15 TCU. - The Crimson Tide has most recently logged back-to-back 3-0 wins over Troy and South Alabama and will face Samford on Sept. 3 before welcoming Harvard. - Larkin Thomason leads Alabama's offense with 13 points on six goals and one assist, with five of her goals coming on penalty kicks. - Goalkeeper Madi Munguia was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 31 after her back-to-back shutouts of Troy and South Alabama. Munguia has 14 saves on the year. Next Up The Crimson return home on Sept. 10 to face cross-town rival Northeastern at 7 p.m. before heading up to take on New Hampshire at 2 p.m. on Sept. 13.