CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior forward
Miciah Madison proved to be too much for host Harvard as the Tracy, Calif. native., scored twice. The University of San Francisco women's soccer team improved to 5-2 on the year with the 3-1 win over Harvard (3-2).
"I thought today was a good performance," said head coach
Jim Millinder. "We jumped on them and up front we looked good. I thought our first half was better than our second half, but as we continue to evolve that will improve. The game kind of went the way I thought it would go, we finished what we created. Right now, Miciah and Samantha are really tough to defend. With that said we've got to continue to get better. It's hard to win on the road and I'm proud of our kids' effort, it's hard to go across country and beat a tough team on their turf. But we've got to get better at defending, we've got to get better with our communication, but we are winning, and that's the key as we continue to evolve."
HOW IT HAPPENED
• After early pressure from the Crimson, the Dons broke through when
Miciah Madison blasted a shot from to the top right corner from 25 yards out. It was her fourth goal of the season and came on the first shot of the game by the Dons.
• Later in the first, it was fellow senior
Samantha Jehnings's turn to send one to the back of the net. Madison sent a beautiful cross and Jehnings did the rest, sending a header past the Harvard keeper for her fifth of the season to give the Dons a 2-0 advantage. It was Madison's third assist of the season.
• The Dons went into the locker room pitching a shutout thanks to a strong defensive effort. USF outshot the Crimson 6-1 in the opening half. Harvard's lone shot coming in the third minute and failed to reach keeper
Olivia Camera because the defense blocked it.
• Midway through the second half, Madison's athleticism got the Dons on the board for the third time. She took a clear on the right side and sprinted past the Harvard defense, once inside the box she booted the ball past the keeper for her second score of the game.
• Harvard ended the shutout with a goal in the 66
th minute when Sophie Hirst took the cross from Gabby DelPico for her second goal of the season. It was just the third shot on goal by the Crimson at that point thanks to a stifling Dons defense.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
0: For the fifth time this season the Dons shut out their opponent in the opening half. The Dons are 5-1 when they hold their opponent scoreless in the first period.
3: Today's multi-goal effort by
Miciah Madison was her third career multi-goal game. She has two this season (vs. UC Riverside). Her first career multi-goal game came against Pacific in her sophomore season on Oct. 20, 2017.
5: Keeper
Olivia Camera earns her fifth win of the season, three shy of her career-best. It is her 18
th career win. With the victory, she improves to 5-2-0 this season.
17: Madison's assist is her third on the year and her 17
th career assist. She moves into a three-way tie for third all-time with Kelli Bryant (1992-95) and
Amanda Whittle (2013-16). Next up is Pam Riggs (1989-92) who has 20.
29: The goal for
Samantha Jehnings is the 29
th in her legendary career. She takes sole possession of third on the Dons all-time list, breaking a tie at 28
th with Chelsea Hunt (2003-06). The only players ahead of Jehnings are USF Hall of Famers' Bryant (33 career goals) and Shanna Haines (1986-89) who is the USF record holder with 42.
NEXT UP
The Dons will remain in Boston with a showdown against Northeastern on Sunday. The Dons and Huskies are slated for a 10:00 a.m. PT start time. That game will have livestats and video. The video is provided by FloSports.tv which a subscription based service.
