No. 8 Yale Too Much for M. Soccer

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--On a chilly, hostile night in New Haven, the Harvard men's soccer team dropped 3-0 to No. 8 Yale on Saturday.

In front of a vocal crowd of several hundred, senior forward Jac Gould, Yale's all-time leading goal scorer and last week's Ivy League Player of the Week, put the Bulldogs (5-1, 1-0 Ivy) ahead for good on a low, bouncing shot in the 58th minute of play.

It was the first of three Bulldog goals in a span of 19 minutes after a tightly contested first half, a stretch of time that showcased Yale's senior offensive threats and, by contrast, the Crimson's young, injury-depleted backfield.

Harvard (1-3-1, 1-1 Ivy) traveled without its junior captain Ryan Kelly, who broke his hand on Wednesday night, only hours after the Crimson tied Boston University, 1-1.

While the two teams warmed up on Yale's Soccer-Lacrosse field, the P.A. speakers blared Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle," foreshadowing the tenor of the first half, as the initial 15 minutes were littered with tough fouls and retaliatory challenges that often went uncalled.

"It's an old rivalry, and it was a night game in front of a huge crowd," senior midfielder Armando Petruccelli said. "Everyone in that place was pumped, and I think it was the atmosphere that created the early physical play, not anything personal."

Although play cleaned up as the half progressed, the pace never slowed down, especially around both teams' goals.

Forwards Alan Bengtzen and Will Hench both had good chances early on, but Yale keeper Danny Moss, who entered the game with a 1.40 goals-against average, was impenetrable.

Yale was also pressing in its offensive third, registering three corner kicks in the first 10 minutes.

At the end of the first half, however, the score remained deadlocked at 0-0.

"The first half saw a whole lot of defense, with both teams covering up in the back very well," Petruccelli said.

Kelly's loss was felt early on in the first half, as the Crimson failed to string together passes and put together a balanced offensive attack that occupied the middle and offensive thirds.

Kelly usually plays as a central defender, but since the Columbia match Sept. 18, he has been venturing into the midfield, pushing the rest of the Harvard offense further forward. The result has been more Harvard possession in the matches against Columbia and B.U.

Against Yale, conversely, Harvard found most of its scoring chances coming in transition, or in isolated efforts by a single player.

"We got forward a bit, but at the same time we were never really a threat," Petruccelli said. "The offense never got into the process of attacking, never kept possession. One person like Henchie [Will Hench] would take on three guys and get free, but we didn't work as a team a lot."

With Kelly absent from the midfield, Petruccelli was under increased pressure on both sides of the midfield.

"Yale's whole center midfield could concentrate on stopping Armando because no one else was in the middle," freshman defender Mike Lobach said. "Armando also had to drop back further, and that ultimately packed us in a little more."

Kelly's raw talent as a defender was also deeply missed, as Yale's offense features a number of scoring threats in both the midfield and the front line.

Three players, Gould, senior Phil Harris and captain Hiro Suzuki were all among the top 10 Ivy League scorers last season. In addition to this seasoned trifecta, the Yale offense features highly recruited freshman Jay Alberts, who already has three assists this season.

In contrast, the Harvard defense started two freshmen in Lobach and Colin Eyre, plus junior Matt Edwards and senior Ryan Keeton.

It was the combination play of Suzuki and Gould that lead to Yale's first tally at the 57:42 mark.

Coming over the midline, Suzuki beat one Harvard midfielder, then ran into trouble with the next challenge. Spinning around, Suzuki beat his man, dazzling the crowd as he momentarily dribbled backwards up the field.

Turning from 35 yards out, Suzuki found Gould to his right, several yards outside the box.

Gould received the ball, took a couple of touches and rocketed a low ball at the net. Sophomore goalie Mike Meagher got a good read and dove to his left, his hands stretched out in front of the ball.

"I was in line for the save, but at the last second the ball took a high bounce and skipped over my hands," Meagher said.

Despite the goal and the overwhelming swing in momentum, the Crimson had a prime scoring chance only minutes later.

After some good work on the left wing, sophomore Nick Lenicheck served a ball into Petruccelli, who stood only twelve yards out, but the senior could not get a good shot off.

"Hench went up to head the ball, and I thought he was going to get it," Petruccelli said. "When it kept coming I tried to put a touch on it, but my trap went too far and I couldn't get the shot I wanted."

The missed chance to equalize was costly, as the Bulldogs struck again on a set play in the 65th minute.

After a couple of quick touches from the set position, Suzuki received a short lateral pass at the top of the box. After pulling the ball across his body to his right foot, the captain put a floating ball high and to the left of Meagher.

Beaten, Meagher stood frozen on his line.

"We got caught sleeping on that direct kick," Meagher said. "I didn't see the ball until it was ten yards in, and it may have deflected off of one of our defenders."

With a riotous Yale crowd behind them and a 2-0 lead at home, the Bulldogs coasted for the remaining 25 minutes.

Yale's third goal came from Harris at 77:19, after a well-placed cross from Alberts found the striker behind his man and ready to strike in the box. Meagher got a hand on Harris' point-blank shot, but it deflected over him into the goal for a 3-0 lead.

Yale's second-half onslaught was nothing new this season. Over six games, the Bulldogs' offense has only two goals in the first half, but has scored 10 in the second.

"I am not so sure they were three goals better than us, but were not worrying about it too much," Petruccelli said. "We're still in it. Most teams who win the Ivy League usually have a loss. What we need to do now is get a win against Northeastern and go out to California and have a good show. That's what's important now."

The Crimson will face Boston-area rival Northeastern tomorrow on Ohiri Field at 3:30 p.m.