McNerney, Harvard women’s soccer enter NCAA tournament today

Former Agganis Scholar Annie McNerney saw plenty of tournament action when she played girls soccer at Swampscott High School. Tonight she will play her first-ever college postseason game when the Harvard women’s soccer team faces Northeastern in the opening round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 tournament at Chestnut Hill.”I’m sure they’ll be good,” McNerney, a junior who plays forward and outside midfielder for the Ivy League champion Crimson, said on Wednesday night. “We’ve got to bring our all.”The Crimson and Huskies met during the regular season, with Harvard prevailing, 2-1, in overtime. The rematch, on the turf of the Newton Soccer Field at Boston College, will start tonight at 7 p.m. This is the first NCAA appearance for Northeastern, which enters with a 13-8-1 record. (The Huskies also have a North Shore connection, as Peabody High graduate Emilee Ellison is a senior co-captain, playing defense.)”High school is great, but college is definitely a bit more intense,” McNerney said. “College play is a bit more difficult. Every game, it feels like it is a tournament game. We had to keep winning in order to win the Ivy League.”That the Crimson did, as a penalty kick by McNerney’s classmate Lizzy Nichols vaulted Harvard past Columbia, 2-1, in double overtime last Saturday in Cambridge for the Ivy title. This was the first league title for Harvard (10-3-4, 5-1-1 Ivy) since 1999.”There were so many fans,” McNerney said. “The whole lacrosse team (came). They were building it up the whole week. Other sports teams were saying, ‘Wow, you guys inspired us.'”Astute North Shore high school soccer fans will remember that penalty kicks played a prominent role for another McNerney team. Several years ago, Swampscott met Danvers in a Division 2 North semifinal, with the Falcons prevailing on PKs. Her commitment to soccer in high school is reflected in the fact that she was one of three captains.What’s changed for McNerney since then? In high school, she competed in indoor track as well as soccer. In college, she opted for soccer over track.”I really like team sports,” said McNerney, who has been playing soccer since she was “probably five.” She added, “You get to work with others. It’s less individualized, which I really enjoy. You work hard and get to see results, which is awesome.”Ironically, even in an “individual” sport such as track, McNerney participated on a team. She ran on the 4×4 relay squad for the Big Blue; her other events included the 600 and the high jump.These days, her portfolio includes one fewer sport, but that doesn’t mean a decrease in activity.”The workout schedule is definitely more intense,” McNerney said. “Practices are five times a week – not necessarily soccer, but running and lifting. You also travel further away. It’s also a big deal. In high school, you’re (only) traveling through the New England region. And the level of play is higher.”Off the field, her primary focus of study is government; she minors in economics. She keeps in touch with friends from high school, including Cara Cadogan, who is continuing the sport herself, at Tufts.If McNerney and the Crimson can win tonight, they will continue their season for at least one more game. No player on the Crimson has participated in a collegiate postseason game before. Harvard last reached the postseason in 2004.”Every single game is different,” McNerney said. “I think out team works well connecting. Our defense is awesome. Our offense is awesome. Our midfield is great. I feel we’re working well together.”