On Saturday night, the women’s soccer team (8-2-4, 2-1-2 Ivy) tied Ivy League leader Harvard (5-4-3, 3-1-1 Ivy) 2-2 following a heated matchup in Cambridge. Entering the weekend, Brown had the chance to claim the No. 1 spot in the Ivy League, but following the draw, they fell to fourth.
The fourth spot in Ivy League standings is a pivotal position for the postseason as only four teams advance to the Ivy Tournament. With only two games left in the regular season, the Bears look to retain their conference ranking as they take on third-place Princeton (4-5-3, 3-2) and sixth-place Cornell (5-5-4, 2-3).
Though the Crimson had the home-field advantage, Bruno walked into Cambridge with the intensity and swagger characteristic of 16-time Ivy League champions.
“I’m proud of the way the team showed up today,” Head Coach Kia McNeill said via Brown Athletics. “I thought we competed hard and, for the most part, were on the front foot throughout the game.”
The star-studded Bruno offense, led by 2024 First Team All-Ivy midfielder Joy Okonye ’27 and team leader in goals Naya Cardoza ’26, peppered the Crimson defense with a flurry of attacks. Eight minutes in, Bruno almost netted the first tally of the game when a heroic run by Ayla Sahin ’28 on the right alley led her past two Harvard defenders and culminated in a shot off the post.
Despite the unlucky bounce, Brown continued to apply the pressure — just over 20 minutes later, the Bears notched their first goal. The tally came off of a corner kick 30 minutes into the match when a beautifully lofted ball by Audrey Lam ’27 found the head of Cardoza in front of the net to make it 1-0 Brown. This marks Cardoza’s seventh goal of the year, which leads the Ivy League.
“Our team played hard and aggressively,” Angelina Vargas ’27 wrote in an email to The Herald. “Harvard had a tough time moving the ball with our intense pressure.”
Bruno’s offense remained steadfast from there, continuing to hound the Crimson for a whopping total of 6 shots on goal just in the first half. On the other half of the field, Bruno’s strong backline — anchored by experienced goalie Bella Schopp ’26 — left a strong impression. The Crimson was only allowed 4 total shots and 2 saves in the first half.
When the second half began, the Crimson showed a reignited fire that took Brown off-guard. Less than three minutes into the half, Harvard attacker Anna Rayhill crossed into Brown’s box. Shaking defenders, she faked a shot to the right and cut back to her left before smoothly finishing in the bottom left corner to tie it 1-1.
“At this point in the season, it’s really a game of inches,” Coach McNeill wrote. “It comes down to finishing your chances and minimizing mistakes.
But Brown quickly regained its footing and started to hammer on the attack. Just 13 minutes later, the Bears launched perhaps their most impressive goal of the season.
Streaking down the right side of the field, Vargas found herself under pressure. With a defender glued to her hip as she rounded toward the box, Vargas let one loose from what seemed like a mile away. Spectators and players couldn’t help but watch in awe as the rocket sailed over the entirety of Harvard’s defense, slotting beautifully into the left-side netting to put Brown up 2-1.
“When I got the ball, I knew that this was a shot I could make,” Vargas wrote. “After the goal, I was just happy to be surrounded by my teammates and celebrate with the girls who put 110% every day to help our team succeed.”
With time winding down, Bruno fought to maintain their lead. But Harvard, facing defeat, fought harder.
In the 74th minute, that effort turned into points. From the sideline in front of Brown’s bench, the Crimson’s Jasmine Leshnick aired a free kick all the way from midfield toward the Bruno goal.
Schopp watched as it sailed over the heads of the Harvard attackers, waiting for one of them to go for a header. But they never did, and Schopp was unprepared for the ball to soar straight into the back of the net to tie the game at 2 all.
In the final 15 minutes of the game, neither team secured another goal, and the game ended 2-2. Bruno had a clear advantage in shots taken, towering over Harvard 17-7 with 9 shots on goal. But to the Crimson’s credit, their defense was elite, with netminder Rhiannon Stewart making 7 saves on Saturday.
“We gave up an unfortunate goal that let them back in, and from there it was clear Harvard was content with the tie while we were still pushing for the win,” Coach McNeill wrote. “In the end, it was just too little, too late.”
Bruno will most likely need to beat both Princeton and Cornell in the team’s final games in order to make the Ivy tournament.
“Our mindset is to take one game at a time,” Vargas wrote. “We have control of our own destiny, and we know that when we play together and for each other, we are hard to beat.”
Brown will face Cornell at 1 p.m. in Ithaca this Saturday and Princeton at home the following week for the team’s final two regular season games.
