M.Soccer Battles Holy Cross to Disappointing Tie

The Harvard men's soccer team could not have dominated Holy Cross any more than they did yesterday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

Except on the scoreboard.

Despite outshooting the visiting Crusaders (7-2-3) 17-8, the Crimson (2-7-2, 1-2 Ivy) was unable to capitalize on its superb play and held on for a disappointing 1-1 tie.

Senior striker Armando Petruccelli netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season at the 56:40 mark in the second half to break the scoring barrier and give Harvard a temporary 1-0 advantage.

After sophomore midfielder Nick Lenicheck earned a corner, sophomore back Joe Steffa headed the free kick towards the Crusader's goal box. Petruccelli quickly corralled the ball after it was deflected and tucked it deftly into the bottom right corner of the net.

"The ball came off the header by Joe, and after I shot it, it sort of deflected off another player and went in," Petruccelli said. "We've been struggling, but we wanted to get into a rhythm."

However, Harvard's lead was short-lived.

In spite of controlling the tempo and applying consistent pressure over the next fifteen minutes, the Crimson did have lady luck on its side.

But Holy Cross managed to get lucky on one of their few strikes in Crimson territory.

The Crusaders evened the score at 1-1 when freshman midfielder Matt Ney gained possession of a cross from senior teammate Nicholas Vuono and pushed it pass Harvard goalkeeper Mike Meagher at the 73:07 mark.

"We had a lot of chances today," head coach John Kerr said. "But we couldn't put them away when we had the opportunity."

The Crimson earned two corners in the following five minutes, but was unable to convert.

Its last best chance of the regulation period came after being awarded a free kick just outside the goal box. A Crusader defender tripped Petruccelli, setting up the kick for the Crimson.

Senior forward Will Hench, who played a consistent and solid game, fired a laser towards the upper right corner, but senior Crusader goalkeeper Chuck Chiesa made a great save to prevent what would have been the game-winner.

"This game was typical of our season," captain Ryan Kelly said. "It always seems as if we get an unlucky break. I feel that we definitely outplayed them and should have won."

As the contest entered the first of two 15-minute overtime periods, things began to heat up between the opposing teams. Characterized by physical play, the match included a total of 47 fouls and five yellow cards, three of which were given in the extra session.

The Crimson continued its overwhelming offensive push in overtime, but remained plagued by its inability to score the golden goal.

Hench was denied yet another goal after Chiesa made a spectacular diving save on what appeared to be the game-winner, with six minutes left in the first overtime period.

The final chance for Harvard surfaced early in the second overtime session, when Petruccelli took a Hench pass and poked the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

But the goal was called back, due to an offsides call by the officials.

Thus, the match ended in a 1-1 tie. Throughout the game, both teams furiously attempted to find the back of the elusive net with strong offensive strikes but were unsuccessful.

"I'm happy with the effort and result we got today," Coach Kerr said. "We played well and dominated from the start. We were able to pick up some confidence for our big game against Princeton this weekend."

The Crimson now focuses its attention on Ivy League competition, with four of its last six games featuring conference teams.

It will play host to the Princeton Tigers this Saturday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

"[Today's game] was a confidence builder for us," Kelly said. "It was one of our best efforts of the season."

"We still feel that we have a shot in the Ivy League," Petruccelli said. "It all starts this weekend with a big game against Princeton."

A win against the Tigers would propel the Crimson into a third-place tie in the conference and improve their Ivy record to 2-2.

After today's offensive drought, Harvard hopes to open the floodgates this weekend against Princeton.