Zizzo, Bruins End Harvard’s NCAA Run

WESTWOOD, Calif.—Most Los Angeles first-timers are given their requisite 15 minutes of fame, but the visiting Harvard men’s soccer team only got 1:55.

That was all it took for UCLA midfielder Sal Zizzo to scorch Harvard’s left side and fire a shot into the far post past Crimson junior goalkeeper Adam Hahn, giving UCLA an early 1-0 lead.

“It’s not ideal to give up a goal in the first two minutes,” Hahn said. “I think it was a little bit of a wakeup call—after that we started taking it to them a little more.”

Zizzo’s speed on the right side plagued Harvard’s defense all night, which surrendered two more goals—including Zizzo’s second at 39:30—en route to a 3-0 defeat at Drake Field on Wednesday and a second-round NCAA tournament exit for Harvard.

The athletic and relentless Bruins ran circles around the Crimson defense in the first half, and Harvard was unable to sustain any offensive pressure in the opening frame.

A superior second-half effort gave the Crimson several chances on the net in the first 20 minutes. But the Bruins’ two first half goals were enough to keep Harvard from repeating its season-long second-half heroics.

“They’re a talented team, and they also scored at the crucial times,” Harvard coach John Kerr said. “[They scored] a minute or two [into] the game and then right before halftime, and that was the backbreaker for us.”

UCLA dominated from the opening whistle to the end of the first half, double-teaming Crimson freshman striker André Akpan and using a speedy backfield to keep Harvard from sneaking a ball through to either Akpan or captain Charles Altchek.

“We knew they had talented strikers—the Freshman of the Year [Akpan] and the Player of the Year [Altchek], so we came in knowing we had to shut them down,” Zizzo said. “That was definitely our first goal.”

The Crimson’s best chance of the first half came when sophomore midfielder John Stamatis poked a ball through to junior midfielder Matt Hoff on the right side. Hoff sent a high cross to Altchek just outside the 18-yard box, and Altchek’s subsequent header landed at Akpan’s feet.

But the Bruins’ lightning fast defense reacted immediately, shifting two defenders to cover Akpan and deflecting his shot from beyond the 18-yard box.

The play encapsulated Harvard’s game-long offensive frustration: just as a hole opened up, UCLA’s defense was there to close it.

“It’s the most athletic team maybe in the country,” Kerr said. “They’re also very used to this surface, which is a lot different from the East Coast where the grass is thicker. This surface runs really quick.”

The shutout marked the first time all season Harvard has been held scoreless, and it was the Crimson’s first loss in 10 games.

“They played well, and we just couldn’t seem to create many opportunities in the first half,” Altchek said. “We created more in the second half and couldn’t put them away. That’s the first time that’s happened to us all year, and it was an unfortunate time for it to happen.”

The dagger came just minutes before halftime, when Zizzo began a drafted corner kick play with a soft pass just inside the line. Bruins’ defenseman Mike Zaher received a pass at the top of the 18-yard box and fired a quick return pass to Zizzo, who had snuck by an oblivious Harvard defense and sent a one-touch shot from the five-yard box into the right corner.

“That was the backbreaker for us,” Kerr said. “We know we can come back, but getting scored upon right before halftime really took the wind out of our sails.”

The Crimson offense warmed up in the second half, as Harvard returned from the break with 10 minutes of sustained offense to begin the second frame. Junior midfielder Mike Fucito’s breakaway in the 67th minute marked the Crimson’s best chance of the game—one truncated by a UCLA defender’s timely slide tackle before Fucito could fire off a shot.

Altchek also had a chance in the 85th minute, when he corralled an Akpan pass at the right corner of the 18 and tried to lift the ball over Bruins’ goalkeeper Eric Reed. Reed, like the rest of the UCLA defense, reacted immediately and smothered the ball.

“We played well all year, and tonight we couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net,” Altchek said. “I’m proud of the group—I think we played hard, [but] we just couldn’t execute, me included.”

The Bruins added a third goal in the 73rd minute, when Chance Myers sent a perfect pass to a streaking Kyle Nakazawa just seven feet in front of the net. Nakazawa’s near-post shot sailed into the back of the net.

“It wasn’t our day—things didn’t fall the way they normally fall for us,” Kerr said. “But [this season] was fantastic. We played with great composure all season long and with great commitment, and I’m really proud of them.”

—Staff writer Aidan E. Tait can be reached at atait@fas.harvard.edu.