Hartwick Eludes Booters, 3-2; Crimson Stalls in Second Half

Nobody asked for an easy schedule.

But after dropping its third consecutive decision to a nationally ranked opponent, the Harvard men's soccer team (now 1-3) faces an increasingly difficult road to a post-season tournament berth.

Fourth-ranked Hartwick (now 7-1-1), rallied Saturday at Ohiri Field to defeat the Crimson, 3-2, in a game which--at halftime--was shaping up as a big Harvard upset.

Twelve minutes into the contest, freshman forward Ramy Rajballie--who had been sidelined much of last week because of illness--fired a shot on goal from about 20 yards out.

The ball zipped past Wildcat goalie Mike Harrison, rebounded off of both posts, and eventually settled in the net for a 1-0 Harvard lead.

But, according to Rajballie, "For the rest of the first half, we sat on our lead too much and gradually Hartwick worked back into the game."

Pushing the visitors along were over 150 Wildcat booosters bused down from upstate New York to cheer and wave "GO WICK" banners--in the pouring rain.

Their boys responded by mounting three potentially dangerous threats in the final minutes of the half. Crimson goalie Matt Ginsburg deflected two shots with sprawling saves and watched a third strike off the left pole.

Close calls, but the precarious one-goal edge held, giving the booters hopes of scoring an upset that might propel them back into the nation's top 20.

Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed in the second half--and dashed quickly.

Within the span of 15 minutes, Hartwick tallied three times--the final goal coming on a striking full volley shot from forward Paul Cushion--to turn the game around and capture a 3-1 lead.

With 30 minutes remaining, the Harvard offense responded to the shock treatment by coming back to life.

Two minutes after the Wildcats' third goal, Crimson Captain Lane Kenworthy took a pass from Nick Hotchkin and drove it into the net to cut the deficit to one.

But Harvard couldn't find another hole in the Hartwick defense, and when the clock ran out the score stood at 3-2.

After the game, midfielder Paul Nicholas said, "This was our best game of the year."

"We showed a lot of character today," Ginsburg added.

Harvard hosts Boston College Tuesday, and then travels to Ithaca, N.Y., Friday to face Cornell in its second Ivy League contest of the season.