Men’s and women’s soccer face Harvard back-to-back on Sherrerd

Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams will face Harvard this Saturday on Sherrerd Field at the Class of 1952 Stadium. The men’s team will kick off the back-to-back games at 3 p.m., while the women’s team will conclude the day, kicking off at 6 p.m.

Having tied with Drexel this past Tuesday, the men’s soccer team (7–4–2 overall, 2–0–1 Ivy) looks to continue its undefeated Ivy League streak with a victory over Harvard (3–9, 1–2). A win or draw would also extend the team’s current five-game undefeated streak. Following the scoreless draw with Drexel, the Tigers will only face Ivy League teams for the remainder of the season, a stretch that will commence with the highly anticipated Harvard match this weekend.

Leading the team are senior defender and midfielder Sean McSherry and senior midfielder and forward Jeremy Colvin. Both have amassed eight points for the season, with McSherry garnering three goals and two assists and Colvin scoring four game-winning goals. Anchoring the defense is junior goalkeeper Jacob Schachner with four shutouts and a .769 save percentage.

Princeton is 42–41–9 all-time against Harvard. Each of the four previous matchups was highly contested. The Tigers beat the Crimson 3–2 in both 2014 and 2015, Harvard took the match in 2016 at 3–2, and last year’s match concluded with a 1–1 draw, leaving the classic rivalry charged for Saturday’s match.

After the men’s afternoon match, the women’s soccer team (8–3–2, 2–1–1 Ivy) will face Harvard (6–5–1, 3–0–1) in the same stadium. The game is the team’s fifth Ivy League match of the season. While the Tigers defeated Yale and Columbia, they drew with Dartmouth late last month and lost 2–3 against Brown in the team’s last home match.

Key players in the Princeton lineup will be senior forward Mimi Asom and junior goalkeeper Natalie Grossi. Asom leads the team with 10 goals, three of which she scored against Yale, and 20 points. The forward now has 41 career goals and 90 career points, placing her as third on the program’s all-time goals scored list and fourth on the career points list. Asom was also influential in Princeton’s 2015 matchup against Harvard, scoring a goal to contribute to the team’s 2–1 victory. Harvard responded in 2016 with a narrow 1–0 win against the Tigers. Grossi has seven total shutouts for the season and 22 for her career, moving up to second on the program’s all-time shutout list.

This game is a significant one. Not only is Harvard looking to redeem its 6–1 loss last season, but the Tigers also need to defeat their next three opponents, including Cornell and Penn, to be considered for the Ivy League title. The 6–1 tally last season, in addition to Princeton’s 5–0 win in 2006, is the largest margin of victory against Harvard in program history.

Both the men and women’s matches will be hosted on Sherrerd Field. They will also be streamed live on ESPN+.