Keeping at It

Playing 90 minutes of college soccer is no easy task. It takes stamina, awareness and talent.

But it’s even more difficult to play with a groin strain, a separated shoulder, a torn calf or two herniated discs in your back. All of these injuries have plagued the Harvard men’s soccer team at a single position-—goalkeeper.

One by one the keepers have fallen prey to injury. The Crimson has been rotating three goalies, none of which is playing at 100 percent.

But all three remain commited to playing despite their weakened conditions.

“You know what, sometimes you just have to suck it up and go out there,” sophomore Ryan Johnson said.

The trouble began just a few weeks ago when the team traveled traveled to England for some preseason matches. It was there that Johnson—a backup last year—separated his shoulder, creating mild unease. Yet teams rarely ever operate at full strength, and Harvard still had two healthy goalies in juniors Jamie Roth and Conrad Jones.

Within a week, however, another keeper was down. Roth—who last year had a .730 save percentage and 54 saves in 14 games—strained his groin and was unable to continue practicing. He had started eight of the 14 games he played in last year.

Suddenly Jones was elevated to the starting position as the lone healthy goalie despite having played in only three games in his entire collegiate career. Yet Harvard Coach John Kerr and the rest of the team remained calm.

“We are very fortunate to have three goalkeepers of such high quality,” captain Andrew Old said. “Any one of them would be a starter at another school.”

Jones solidified the team’s confidence after posting a shutout tie against Vermont and a 2-1 victory over Rhode Island. The victory over the Rams was particularly exciting, considering last year’s game, when the Crimson lost 5-1.

Yet through out his impressive performances Jones was also quietly nursing an injury of his own. A back injury from freshman year was being aggravated, but he did not want to disturb his team or lose his shot at starting in goal.

“My back was hurting me, but I took a gamble,” Jones said.

That gamble backfired in the opening minutes of the game against Fairfield when Jones took a hit from an opposing player and fell to the ground hard, reinjuring his back.

When Jones was unable to return, Johnson—still suffering the effects from a torn calf and a separated shoulder—was thrown into the game. Suddenly Harvard found itself with three goalies, all seriously injured.

“It’s completely coincidental, like a curse,” Jones said.

Johnson and Roth lost their recovery time as Johnson finished the 2-2 game against Fairfield and Roth started last Saturday in Harvard’s 4-1 loss to Hartford. Both called the presence of another strong keeper in Jones a luxury, since it allowed them a significant decrease in practice time as well. Not only were both Johnson and Roth still injured but they were also “rusty,” according to Roth.

“With something like this you can’t take a big break from practicing and games and go out and expect to be 100 percent,” Roth said.

Despite his condition Roth did manage to post nine saves against an offense that boasted a forward who has won the America East’s Player of the Week honors twice in a row.

Luckily for Harvard, the outlook for the upcoming weeks is more promising than it may appear. Johnson and Roth are both recovering while increasing their playing time.

The healthier of the two will play against Maine tomorrow.

As a preventative measure, freshman JV goalie Jim Treadway is backing them up in practice. According to Kerr, once his NCAA eligibility is confirmed, Treadway could see some game time. Jones is currently out for an uncertain amount of time, with hopes for returning later this season.

Despite the current rash of injuries, now the Crimson is remaining focused on its goals of turning ties into wins and competing for the Ivy title.

“Injuries are a part of soccer, we cannot make them an excuse,” Old said.

With the first conference game still two weeks away, Kerr believes the goalie situation should be remedied by then. No matter which goalie ends up starting, he stays confident in his players.

“As far as I’m concerned, all three of them are first-team goalkeepers,” Kerr said.