M. Soccer Rebounds With 7-0 Win

Coming off of two tough losses in the past week, the Harvard men’s soccer team worked out some of its frustration on Saturday afternoon, obliterating the University of Maine, 7-0.

“It was a good confidence builder after two losses on the road,” said Harvard Coach John Kerr.

Indeed the game was a good confidence builder, as the Crimson (4-2, 1-0 Ivy) dominated every minute of each half. Within the first 20 minutes of play, Harvard jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals scored by sophomore midfielder Kevin Ara at 14:27 and freshman forward Jeremy Truntzer at 17:45.

It was from then on that the thrashing of Maine (1-4) began.

After playing most of the half on Maine’s side of the field, the Crimson finally struck again at 37:55.

On a penalty kick, junior back Michael Cornish put the ball in past Maine goalie Mat Cosgriff to make the score 3-0.

Maine only had one true scoring opportunity in the first half. 40 minutes into the period the Black Bears were pressing and crossed the ball into the center in front of the goal. Harvard freshman goalie Jamie Roth caught the ball, but bobbled it and it fell out of his hands. Before Maine had a chance to recover the ball, however, Roth fell on it, ending the Bears’ only chance of the half.

In the second half, the Crimson came out strong again, and within minutes was controlling the ball in Maine territory. In the 53rd minute, Cornish crossed the ball into the center and Ara received the pass. Cosgriff blocked the first shot, but the rebound deflected right to Ara’s feet. He tapped it into the goal to pad the Harvard lead.

Down 4-0, Maine’s spirit was visibly deflated. Harvard continued to press, keeping the ball in the center of the field, right in front of Maine’s goal.

The fifth goal came shortly thereafter, in the 61st minute, amid a jumble of Harvard and Maine players that had collected in front of the goal. Cosgriff was out of the net, and suddenly the ball came loose. Sophomore midfielder Ladd Fritz took advantage of the opportunity and shot the ball right into the center of the open goal.

Celebrating after taking the 5-0 lead, Kerr began to give some of the starters a rest. But even then Maine was not able to stop the Crimson.

Five minutes after the fifth goal was scored, junior forward Charles Morrow crossed the ball in from the left side and freshman forward Nicholas Barnes headed it into the right corner of the net to get his first goal of his collegiate career.

“I feel relieved to finally get it over with,” Barnes said. “No goal is easy, and this wasn’t a spectacular goal, but it was a good way to start off.”

Less than 10 minutes later, the Crimson attacked again, as Morrow passed the ball up the field to sophomore forward Robert Zhara who took the ball up the middle of the field. He proceeded to outplay the defenders around him, and shot the ball past the goalie for his first goal of the year.

Even with the tremendous lead, the Crimson continued to press hard. In the last few seconds, Barnes nearly scored his second goal, shooting from outside of the box. The ball soared toward an open corner of the net, but time had already expired.

Overall, there was little to complain about in this win.

Everyone on the squad got to play and showed the great amount of depth that the team has this year. While very happy with the game, Kerr urged that the team is still improving.

“We are not peaking yet, but we are pretty close,” Kerr said. “All preparations now are for the Ivy League. It’s important to win the Ivy League, as it guarantees a spot in the championship series.”

The Crimson does not have time to sit back and revel in the glory of this win, however, as tomorrow it will battle Providence on the road. The match with the Friars could be a tough game.

“The Providence game on Tuesday will not be easy,” Kerr said. “Anything could happen.”