CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University women's soccer is set to play at Wake Forest University in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday, November 14 at 1:00 p.m. at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Earning an at-large berth, the Crimson will make its 17
th all-time appearance in the NCAA tournament and first since 2016. Harvard has made the most NCAA appearances of any Ivy League school while the Crimson gained its first at-large bid into the tournament since 2004.
Harvard has posted a 12-2-1 overall record in 2021 alongside a 6-0-0 mark in road contests. In the final RPI used for selections, the Crimson ranked No. 12 in the nation. Earning points from 13 of its 15 matches, the Crimson has now tallied 12 or more wins in back-to-back seasons. Over the past two seasons, Harvard has registered a 24-5-2 record.
Harvard made a pair of NCAA appearances in the 1980s (1982, 1984) before returning to the tournament in 1994. The Crimson then qualified for the tournament six straight times from 1996-2001. Since 2001, Harvard has reached NCAAs in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
During the regular season, Harvard scored multiple goals in 12 of 15 contests and outscored its opponents, 35-12. In the NCAA national statistical rankings, the Crimson ranks fourth in shots on goal per game (9.87), ninth in corner kicks per game (7.47), 10
th in win percentage (.833), 11
th in assists per game (2.67), 16
th in shots per game (19.13), 17
th in points per game (7.33), and 26
th in goals per game (2.33).
Harvard has posted a 9-15-1 all-time record in NCAA Championship play. In its last appearance in 2016, the Crimson fell to Rutgers, 3-0, in the first round. Harvard last advanced to the second round in 2014 when it topped Central Connecticut State, 6-0, in its first-round game in Cambridge.
Thirty-one conferences were granted automatic bids for the 2021 championship, while the remaining 33 teams were selected at-large. The top 16 teams are seeded and conference teams cannot play each other in the first or second rounds. When pairing teams, the committee follows geographic proximity parameters. The top 16 teams will host, and all other sites were selected for the first round to create the least number of flights.
