M. Soccer Loses to Princeton Late, 2-1

In what could have been the most important game of the year for the Harvard men's soccer team, Princeton clawed its way back from an early deficit to defeat the Crimson 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

The Crimson (2-8-2, 1-3 Ivy) was hoping to use the match to leapfrog out of its doldrums in the bottom half of the Ivy League standings, but the Tigers (9-3-1, 4-1 Ivy) proved too tough and took control of the conference with the comeback win.

"Losing that game was hard to take, especially since we thought we were better than them," junior captain Ryan Kelly said.

Sophomore Tiger Graeme Rein took a pass from senior captain Chad Adams at 75:08 and unleashed a laser shot from 30 yards out that flew past sophomore Harvard goalkeeper Mike Meagher and gave Princeton the lead it needed.

The Crimson was unable to nail an equalizer in the final 15 minutes.

"We felt good going into the second half," Harvard senior forward Will Hench said. "We had the wind going our way and kept the ball in their territory most of the time, but were unable to capitalize."

Harvard came out in the first half with a blistering start, giving hope for a win early on in the contest.

Just 1:37 into the game, Hench headed a perfectly-placed corner from senior teammate Armando Petruccelli past Tiger goalie Jason White into the far post.

"They weren't playing well for most of the first half and we had a lot of good chances early on," Hench said.

Despite having the wind on their side in the first half, Princeton was unable to galvanize its stagnant offense for most of the first 45 minutes of the match.

The Tigers got lucky with 2 minutes left in the half when Adams took a lead pass from senior midfielder Brien Wassner inside the Harvard penalty box and put it past Meagher from 12 yards out.

The Tigers, which outshot the Crimson 15-10 in the match, used the momentum from its late first-half goal to keep the pressure on as the second half began.

Princeton finally broke through with Rein's goal at 75:08. The Tigers never looked back.

The game was not nearly as physical as Harvard's previous match with Holy Cross--only about half the fouls--but the final result was equally disappointing for the Crimson.

"It was a disappointing loss, but hopefully we can end the season on a positive note," Kelly said.

Meagher finished with three saves for the Crimson, while White, his Tiger counterpart, finished with two.

With the loss, Harvard fell behind Princeton in the all-time series, 34-33-7.

"We've been playing well but luck just hasn't gone our way," Petruccelli said. "We just have to keep our heads up and try to get the young guys prepared for next year."

Although any chance of finishing atop the Ivy standings is now out of Harvard's reach, many members on the team feel that they can still get a lot out of the season through a strong finish, especially with three of its last five games against conference rivals.

"We're just going to do the best job we can and try to end the Ivy schedule strong," Hench said.

"A lot of freshmen and sophomores have shown that they can step up recently," Kelly said. "They've been able to gain confidence that'll be really helpful next year."

Harvard travels to Fairfield on Tuesday for a late-night match before returning home for a showdown with Dartmouth at noon on Saturday at Ohiri Field.

"Even though we're out of the running for the Ivies, we're not giving up," Kelly said. "A lot of the league games coming up are old rivalries that still mean a lot."