Northeastern women’s soccer (1-3-2, 0-0 CAA) battled its way to a draw against the Harvard University Crimson (0-3-2, 0-0 Ivy League) Sept. 7. After conceding an early goal, the Huskies came back in the second half to tie the game at 1-1.

Harvard put pressure on Northeastern’s defense from the first whistle, controlling speed of play and possession of the ball. In the fifth minute, junior forward Ólöf Kristinsdóttir sent the first shot of the game toward goal for Harvard but did not convert. She followed up with another shot a minute and a half later, which went out for a corner. Junior midfielder Susie Long took the corner and found junior forward Jasmine Leshnick in the box, who redirected the ball just inside the left post to put Harvard up 1-0.

With a one-goal lead, the Crimson continued to dominate for the majority of the first half. Midway through the half, Harvard threatened a second goal with a dangerous shot from the middle of the box, but junior goalkeeper and captain Eliza Teplow protected the net with a diving save.

Going into the second half, Northeastern adjusted to Harvard’s pressure and began to take more control of possession and tempo. In the 57th minute, Northeastern countered with a low, driven shot from outside the box by sophomore forward Claire Murray. She slid into the shot, slicing the ball through two defenders and senior goalkeeper Rhiannon Stewart for her third goal of the season. Murray currently leads the Huskies in goals for the season.

The Huskies kept up the momentum in the 10 minutes following Murray’s goal, searching for another. Sophomore forward Lughano Nyondo had a shot in the 64th minute, which was followed by two consecutive corner kicks for Northeastern. A minute later, senior midfielder and captain Maggie Cochran hit a shot that went out on the right, and junior midfielder Juliana Garcia sent another over the crossbar. The Huskies created threatening opportunities around Harvard’s box, but none found the goal.

Throughout the remainder of the half, both teams fought for the winning shot, but neither reached the back of the net. Teplow made two more saves off of shots from Kristinsdóttir and Leshnick, preserving the draw to end the game at 1-1.

Northeastern will travel to Vermont Sept. 11 to face the University of Vermont Catamounts for the team’s final game before the CAA season begins.