Crimson Wins Again—With ‘D’

It may not have been the best of times for the No. 25 Harvard men’s soccer team, but it couldn’t have been much worse for Princeton last Saturday.

Coming off of high-scoring games against Brown and Holy Cross, with 11 goals scored in two games, the Crimson (11-4-0, 4-1-0 Ivy) didn’t maintain the same offensive prowess. A few solid plays put Harvard ahead 2-1, paralyzing Princeton’s Ivy League hopes and taking it one step closer to a championship title of its own.

The Crimson started off slow, yielding possession of the ball to Princeton (6-6-3, 1-3-1) through most of the half. But a goal by junior Matt Hoff toward the end of the first turned the tide for Harvard.

“They were pressing us pretty hard, and they were mostly in our end,” Hoff said. “Then the goal was just kind of a big blow to them, and they kind of went flat until the second half.”

Setting up Hoff for a one-touch shot, freshman Kwaku Nyamekye launched the ball diagonally from midfield to land directly in front of the goal. After shaking off his defender, Hoff finished the cross and chipped it over the head of Tiger goalkeeper Joe Walters to score.

Although a scoreless half would not have disheartened the Crimson, a halftime lead was far better for Harvard, as Princeton’s morale rapidly deflated.

“We’ve scored a lot of goals, so our motto is if we’re tied at half time, we’re going to win, or we have a great chance at winning, because not many teams are going to keep us from scoring,” Hoff said. “But getting a goal in the first half and going into halftime with the lead was a huge boost because we really didn’t come out very strong.”

The fourth-highest scoring team in the nation, Harvard strategized how best to use its offensive skills against the Tigers, watching tapes of the game to size up Princeton’s weaknesses.

“We definitely did our homework and used it to our advantage with their goalkeeper being unsure about catching the ball in the air,” Hoff said. “Our strategy was just to put the pressure on him, to get the balls and cross them and make him make a decision to come out.”

After sophomore John Stamatis released a long pass in the 51st minute, Princeton’s Walters got his hands on the ball, but key pressure from captain Charles Altcheck caused Walters to fumble the ball in the box.

Altcheck headed the ball back to freshman André Akpan, who slammed it in to up the score to 2-0.

But the Tigers quickly countered with a goal of their own. Back in the game, Princeton stepped up the intensity of the offensive line, pressing their defense forward and bringing an extra man up top.

“Once they scored their first goal to make it 2-1, from then on we were on our heels,” Harvard coach John Kerr said. “We were defending like crazy to protect the lead.

“They really made life difficult, but our defenders played great today. The defense shut them down,” he added

While Harvard held back the Tigers, Dartmouth came out ahead against Columbia, poising both teams for a possible Ivy League title as they prepare to face off this Sunday.

“That puts a little more pressure on us, but it’s not unexpected,” Altcheck said. “This was a must-win game for us as will be the next two, and Dartmouth winning their game just proves how important our victory today was.”

Gametime is 1:30 p.m. in Hanover, N.H.