Profile of Sara Noonan '95

Written by Buffy Clifford
Assistant Sports Information Director
Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fall 1995

Senior co-captain Sara Noonan's soccer career at Harvard has come almost full circle. Heavily recruited out of Winchester (MA) High School, a perennial women's soccer powerhouse, she was familiar with success on the field. Noonan's team always made a showing in the state tournament and was the state champion her junior year. Even more incredible was that Winchester was the number one ranked girl's soccer team in the nation that year.

In Noonan's first two years wearing the Crimson, Harvard women's soccer went through a rebuilding period, recording a 5-8-2 overall record (2-4-1 Ivy) in 1992 and a 6-7-2 overall record (3-4-0 Ivy) in 1993.

"My freshman and sophomore years, we were disappointed with the results of the team," she recalls. "But we knew that with hard work, determination and excellent recruiting we would eventually have the tools to put together a winning season."

Last year, Harvard women's soccer did just that and more. The Crimson was the Cinderella story of the Ivy League, going from rags to riches in a matter of 15 games. In the pre-season, opponents chalked up the Harvard game on their schedules as a win. Harvard put together a 9-4-3 overall record and was undefeated in Ivy League games with a 5-0-2 mark.

One of the greatest days in Noonan's athletic career came last season when Harvard defeated Dartmouth, 2-1, on Ohiri Field. "It's my favorite sports memory here at Harvard," the gritty defensive back admits modestly. "Probably because I was so completely involved in the game."

Noonan's game-winning blast against the nationally ranked Big Green came with just one minute and broke a 1-1 tie that had the anxious Crimson faithful believing that overtime was an inevitability. With the goal, Harvard fans rushed the field in joyous frenzy to congratulate the underdog squad that had pulled off one of the greatest upsets of the season. The victory added to the team's growing credibility as a true contender for the Ivy title. While a subsequent tie with nationally ranked Brown proved Harvard's mettle, it left the Crimson a notch behind the Bears in the final Ivy standings.

But Harvard's storybook season did not end there and he Crimson was vindicated when it was chosen to play in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament. National recognition of the program showed the veterans on the squad just how far they had brought a program that had struggled the two previous seasons.

"It was great to be picked to go to the tournament," says Noonan. "It helped to make up for the disappointing tie with Brown. It also showed people that we were no fluke."

Harvard put together a respectable showing against a tournament-experienced veteran Massachusetts squad in first round action, but fell to the Minutewomen, 3-0. "It was a tough game, but we really learned a lot from being at the tournament. We saw what it takes to play that caliber of team, and we're ready to work as hard as we have to in order to get back again this year.

"I'm excited about our strong start this year. We've refocused and hopefully we can use the strength of our veteran players and add the tremendous skill of our incoming freshman to win the Ivies and go further in the tournament."

Noonan, who has played soccer since she was a little girl on her dad's recreational team, worked hard in the off season to keep herself in top playing shape. Even as she concentrated on her career plans this summer, soccer was never far from her mind.

"I worked for Senator John Kerry in Washington, DC, as an intern. I did research, went to hearings to take notes and wrote constituent letters for him. Working for a senator helped me to decide that I'd rather work for a committee or a department than for an elected official." As she waded through her political days, Noonan looked forward to her evenings and weekends when soccer would take her away from the hectic world of government.

"I played for an under-21 club team in Virginia. We ended up going to regionals in Niagara Falls. It was really exciting to see all the fanfare for our games."

Even when the internship came to an end and it was time to head home for the summer, Noonan still had more soccer in mind. Her dad, or Coach Noonan, had organized a team for the heralded Bay State Games. The team of Winchester
natives, who attended mostly Harvard and Virginia, carried a unique and witty name--VH-1."We rolled over the competition until the championship game, which was much tighter. We ended up winning the gold medal."

The Bay State Games were an excellent tune-up for the final year of her soccer career. "Through athletics and more specifically through turning our program around, I've seen the strength of bonds that you can make with your teammates and how far you can come with hard work. I can see how far we've come in soccer, how we turned it around and have seen it through. It's really exciting when you can look at yourself and know that you really made a difference."

From mediocre seasons to being ranked 18th in Soccer America's preseason poll, things have certainly changed since Noonan's first two years on the Harvard women's soccer team. All that remains to be had is vengeance against Brown, an Ivy title and another trip to the Big Dance, and Noonan's career will have come full circle.