Women’s soccer downs Cornell, 2-0; extends winning streak to four

The temperature may be falling, but the Harvard women’s soccer team is getting hot at just the right time.

After an Oct. 6 victory in which the Crimson dominated Fairfield, 4-1, Harvard traveled to Ithica, N.Y., to defeat Cornell, 2-0.

The Big Red, who fell to 1-9-1 (0-3 Ivy League), were a handful for the Crimson, with Cornell goalkeeper Megan Bartlett recording five of her six saves in the first half.

But Harvard opened the second half firing, scoring twice to start the second period behind goals from freshman defender Taryn Kurcz and junior forward Katherine Sheeleigh.

That was enough for the Crimson to leave Ithaca with a win, defeating the Big Red for their fourth consecutive win of the season, evening up their record to 5-5-1 (2-0 Ivy League).

For their outstanding play this past week, both Kurcz and Sheeleigh received weekly recognition on Monday (Oct. 12).

Kurcz, whose game-winning goal against Cornell was the first of her career, was named Ivy Rookie of the Week. Sheeleigh, who also scored twice against Fairfield, earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week. She leads the team with five goals this season.

The Crimson have a full slate in the upcoming week at they host the Brown Bears Saturday (Oct. 17) at Ohiri Field, starting at 11 a.m., followed by Yale on Oct. 20 in New Haven at 3 p.m. The game at Yale was originally scheduled for Oct. 3, but inclement weather forced the teams to reschedule. Harvard and Yale (7-3; 2-0 Ivy League) are the only remaining teams unbeaten in league play.