M. Soccer Ties Terriers, 1-1 in Rain

Coming off a 2-1 upset victory over Columbia on Saturday, the Harvard men's soccer team followed through with an equally impressive 1-1 tie with Boston University on a cold and soggy Ohiri Field yesterday afternoon.

Using a second-half goal by senior midfielder Armando Petruccelli to equalize after a late first-half goal by the Terriers, the Crimson (1-2-1, 1-0 Ivy)

was able to gain momentum for their showdown with No. 8 Yale (4-0, 0-0 Ivy) on Saturday, while B.U. (2-2-2) was left thinking "what if?"

Harvard out-played B.U. for most of the first half, but still trailed the Terriers 1-0 at halftime.

Roughly two-and-a-half minutes into the second period, sophomore forward Alan Bengtzen fought off two B.U. defenders to earn a free kick in Terrier territory. Petruccelli, taking the kick, found a hole in the defensive wall and curved the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal, leaving goalie Matthew Smith with no time to react at 47:38.

"My teammates needed someone to score," Petruccelli said. "[Junior captain] Ryan Kelly came up to me and said 'Get it in there,' so I did."

The rain began to pick up as the second half neared an end, and with 15 minutes left in regulation, sophomore goalie Mike Meagher made an amazing diving save on a kick lasered by Bone to the far post to keep the Crimson alive.

"I was just trying to keep the team in it," Meagher said. "I tried to cut off his angle and bait him far post. I guess it worked."

Meagher made two more crucial saves in the last ten minutes to extend the game into overtime. The Terriers had been on the offensive for the last 20 minutes of the second half, but the overtime break afforded the Crimson an opportunity to reorganize for the two 15-minute sudden-death periods.

The Crimson, however, was unable to convert on two consecutive corner kicks as the first extra period ended.

B.U. wasted little time in striking back.

Just a minute into the second overtime, Terrier junior midfielder Kirk Miller barely missed a golden opportunity after juking past Meagher. His shot banged off the right post and rolled left precariously along the goal line, but the Crimson defense was able to knock the ball out of bounds before a Terrier could capitalize on the rebound.

"All I tried to do was give him as little room as possible," Meagher said of the fortuitous roll.

The Crimson's last opportunity came a few minutes later when sophomore midfielder Nick Lenicheck's strike just barely missed the net and bounced off the left goal post.

Even with sophomore midfielder Michael Peller returning back into the game after leaving early on after a violent collision, Harvard was unable to break B.U.'s strong defense and held off for a hard earned 1-1 tie.

Harvard Coach John Kerr was very encouraged by his team's play against a tough B.U. squad.

"We played our best soccer of the season," Kerr said. "But unfortunately were unable to capitalize on how much we dominated them. We're definitely a teamed to be reckoned with."

Harvard's stellar play began from the opening whistle of the game combining consistent striking with excellent defense. Senior striker Will Hench was denied two scoring opportunities when both of his shots on goal were stopped by Terrier defensemen at the goal line after he had already beaten the goalie.

At 36:38 of the first half, B.U. sophomore Joachim Kaland gave his team its 1-0 lead off cross by Bone.

After outplaying the Terriers for most of the game, the Crimson hopes to use the tie and its previous win against Columbia as building blocks for the rest of the season.

It doesn't have much time to rest, though. Harvard visits New Haven this Saturday to play a very talented and undefeated Bulldog team that features both the Ivy League Player of the Week, senior Jac Gould and Ivy League Rookie of the Week Jay Alberts.

If yesterday's game against Boston University was any indication though,

Yale will have to be on the very top of its game to preserve its perfect record against the Crimson.