For the sold-out home crowd, Oct. 13’s victory for No. 12 Stanford women’s soccer (13-3-1, 5-3-1 ACC) against No. 4 North Carolina (14-2, 7-1 ACC) was a cagey affair. The game remained scoreless for over 80 minutes as both teams traded bouts of possession but were stifled by the opposing defense. 

To most viewers, sophomore midfielder Shae Harvey’s breakthrough goal was the sole highlight in a mostly forgettable game. But for the soccer nerds, Harvey’s impact on the game went far beyond her goal, perfectly demonstrating the impact central midfielders can have in head coach Paul Ratcliffe’s system. Tactically, Harvey might be the most important player for the Cardinal, as the overall success of the team hinges on her ability to balance her offensive and defensive responsibilities.

In Stanford’s 4-3-3 formation, Harvey plays as one of the three central midfielders alongside sophomore midfielder Mia Bhuta and either freshman midfielder Charlotte Kohler or sophomore midfielder Joelle Jung. Bhuta plays a more defensive role while Kohler and Jung focus more on attacking and Harvey slots in as the “box-to-box” midfielder. This means that she’s both expected to drop in to help the defense as well as push forward to join the attack. 

It is an extremely demanding position. When executed properly, box-to-box midfielders can be the most impactful players on the field, but improper positioning can also leave dangerous gaps for opponents to exploit. Harvey’s afternoon against the Tar Heels demonstrated both sides of that coin. 

Take this UNC possession in the 13th minute as an example. For much of the first half, Stanford’s defensive structure saw Harvey pushed up and marking one of the Tar Heels’ defensive midfielders, with Kohler or Jung marking the other.​​ As UNC’s left back looked for her next pass, Harvey and the Stanford press did a good job in taking away all of her short options. 

However, one of the most fundamental principles of soccer is that open space can be found where a player has just vacated. While it may seem like the Cardinal were in good defensive shape, Harvey’s advanced position left Bhuta alone to cover the massive space in front of the Cardinal back line. 

This would be fine if the Cardinal were applying pressure to the ball, as it would force the UNC player to make a quick decision amongst heavy coverage. However, the Stanford players were content with sitting back and just marking men. This gave the Tar Heels the time to recognize the open space and exploit it, with UNC freshman midfielder Linda Ullmark receiving the outlet pass behind the press and having all the time in the world to turn and drive at the Stanford back line. 

Another example came in the 43rd minute. As Jung gathered the ball on Stanford’s left side, Harvey’s natural inclination to push forward in possession saw her nearly in line with Stanford’s forwards. 

Harvey was in a great position here to receive the ball and turn away from the UNC pressure. However, Jung was unable to find her, and in flicking the ball directly to the UNC center backs, Harvey was left terribly out of position in transition. 

As UNC clears the ball back the other way, Bhuta was again left alone to cover the 30 yards between the Cardinal defensive and attacking lines. This became particularly dangerous when the ball dropped to a UNC midfielder in an advantageous 2 vs. 1 situation in the middle of the field.

The Cardinal got lucky this time around as the Tar Heels were unable to control the ball and complete the combination around Bhuta to mount their attack. But this example again highlights Harvey’s — and Stanford’s — positional troubles that allowed UNC to dominate the first half and outshoot the Cardinal seven to two. 

However, the second half was a different story. Although Ratcliffe denied making significant tactical changes and instead emphasized the “simple stuff that [the players] had to do,” the Cardinal came out more balanced in their press, which gave them greater stability and control in the middle of the pitch. 

The key was Harvey’s positioning. Rather than pushing high up to mark UNC’s defensive midfielders, Harvey instead sat deeper, clogging UNC’s passing lanes and providing much needed protection for the Stanford back line. The far side Stanford winger would then tuck inside and take over Harvey’s man-marking responsibilities, still effectively compacting the space around the ball but giving Stanford a more balanced defensive shape. 

With this simple tweak, the Tar Heels found it much more difficult to advance the ball. In this possession in the 73rd minute, Harvey was level with Bhuta as junior defender Logan Smith (who was playing right winger) slid inside to provide pressure to UNC’s defensive midfielders. 

Even though UNC broke through the first line of pressure and beat Bhuta 1 vs. 1, Harvey was now in perfect position to provide backup and intercept the pass. 

Then, embodying the “box-to-box” name, she sprang forward into the counter attack, ending the possession as one of Stanford’s most forward players deep in the UNC penalty box. 

When asked about the change in shape, Ratcliffe said, “It was supposed to be that way from the get-go.” However, he also acknowledged Harvey’s recognition of the issue and subsequent adjustments.

“I thought she did a better job of noticing how important it was and dropping in,” he said. “When we sat in a little bit we had more possession that way and more of a balanced approach out of the back.”

From this deeper position, Harvey was able to help the Cardinal win back control of the game, ultimately outshooting the Tar Heels fourteen to two in the second half and eventually scoring the breakthrough goal. 

Although Stanford was noticeably better with Harvey starting from a more defensive position, this isn’t to say that she shouldn’t get forward. In fact, as demonstrated by her goal, a large part of Harvey’s game is her ability to get forward and pose a threat in the opposition penalty box. 

Ultimately, Stanford’s success rides on Harvey’s ability to balance getting forward with dropping deeper on defense. If she’s too far forward, she risks opening up dangerous space in front of the back line, too deep and she’s no longer a threat offensively. 

The road ahead for the Cardinal will only get more difficult, as they will see more tough matches against ranked opponents in the gauntlet that is the ACC tournament. But if Stanford can remain structurally sound and tactically disciplined, there is no team in the country that they can’t beat.