WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The No. 25 William & Mary women's soccer team escaped a hectic final minute, and held on to defeat Harvard 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field. Senior goalkeeper Caroline Casey and the Tribe defense recorded its third straight shutout, while senior Katie Johnston netted the game-winning goal in W&M's third straight win. With the victory, the Green and Gold improves to 6-1-1, while Harvard falls to 1-4-1.

Harvard had a pair of shots in the first 11 minutes. The first chance came on a shot from Margaret Purce, which sailed wide. The second was a shot by Joan Fleischman, which was stopped by Casey.

The Crimson had three more shots on-goal following the two earlier chances. Casey was up to the test on a pair of shots from Rachel Garcia, and Brooke Dickens chance.

W&M's first shot on goal came in 21st minute. Johnston found some space and put a shot on target, but Harvard goalkeeper Lizzie Durack stopped it.

The Tribe jumped on the board first with a goal in the 35th minute. Junior Haley Kavanaugh charged the right side of the field, and sent a cross into the box that found Johnston on the left side. Johnston connected and scored into the right corner of the goal. Her fourth goal of the season, gave the Tribe a 1-0 advantage.

To start the second half, the Green and Gold had three chances in the first five minutes to extend its lead. Sophomore Rachel Moore, senior Samantha Cordum, and senior Leci Irvin all pushed their shots wide.

W&M's best chance to double its lead came in the 54th minute. Following a Crimson foul, senior Nicole Baxter lined up a free kick from just outside of the 18. Her shot ricocheted off of the crossbar.  The rebound came down to sophomore Sami Grasso, but she pulled her shot wide.

Both teams traded chances for the mid-part of the second half. Both Durack and Casey each made stops to preserve the score at 1-0.

The 90th minute was a wild one as the Crimson had all 11 players in the box. In the match's final minute, Harvard registered two corner kicks and three shots. Off of the first corner kick, Bailey Gary hit the crossbar with her shot, and Johnston was able to head the ball out of play for another corner kick. Off the second corner, Purce had her shot blocked, but the rebound went right to Gary, who sent the ball towards the goal. Waiting there was Grasso, who cleared it off of the line, and preserved the 1-0 shutout victory for the Tribe.

Harvard out shot the Tribe 16-11 for the match, which included an 8-2 advantage in shots on-goal. Irvin led the Tribe with three shots, while Johnston, Moore, and Grasso each recorded a pair of shots.

Casey finished the day, matching a season-high with seven saves in her sixth victory of the season. She also recorded her fourth shutout of the season, which puts her a tie for fifth place all-time. With her seven saves, she is now just 34 saves from second all-time in school history. Casey and the entire Tribe defense are on a stretch of 348 minutes without conceding a goal.

The College concludes its non-conference portion of the schedule with a trip to Princeton on Sunday, Sept. 20. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. W&M returns to Williamsburg for its Colonial Athletic Association opener against Hofstra on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. Former Tribe standout and U.S. Women's National Team coach Jill Ellis '88 will be in attendance for the match. For more information on Ellis' return to Williamsburg click here.