Streaking Crimson To Take On No. 5 Duke

To date this season, the Harvard men’s soccer team has not been perfect, but they have been clicking with almost complete fluidity.

The only blemish in the 4-1-0 record to date has been a 4-3 season-opening loss to Old Dominion—and even in that match, the Crimson came back with a fighting instinct not seen in a few years on Ohiri Field when they scored three goals in a six-minute span late in the game to tie it at 3-3.

All the cogs in the offense seem to be functioning almost at mid-season form as Harvard has scored 14 goals in just five games this season. Sophomore Mike Fucito leads the way with four, but for the most part, the scoring has been spread amongst a mix of seasoned veterans and a few rookies who are seeing consistent playing time.

“I don’t think we are going to deviate from what has been successful so far,” said Crimson coach John Kerr regarding his team’s offensive strategy for the contest against No. 5 Duke (5-0-1, 1-0-1 ACC) this weekend.

The challenge for the resurgent offense will be more than the usual non-conference warm-ups when Kerr and his team run up against his alma mater and former coach, John Rennie, on Saturday at Ohiri Field.

The Blue Devils have established themselves as a national-title contender in the early part of the season with two strong showings against ranked teams, earning a tie versus No. 15 Virginia Tech and a 4-3 win over No. 7 Wake Forest. While the Crimson traveled down Tobacco Road three years ago to play Duke, this weekend the Blue Devils will return the favor by providing an early-season test to a promising Harvard squad.

“It’s great to really match up and see where we are at,” Kerr said. “It’s nice to be able to see how we stack up this early in the year.”

For the Crimson, this Saturday’s game will mark the climax of its non-conference schedule and the most important matches in Harvard’s season until the meat of the Ivy League schedule comes in late September and early October.

The excitement that surrounds the match—and the possibly unprecedented number of people who may come out to watch the highly touted Blue Devils—will be a key factor in the game. Along with keeping its offensive momentum from the first five games going, the Crimson will have to control and harness the anticipation and thrill of playing Duke on Ohiri field in order to pull off the stunning upset.

Kerr said that the team’s goal was to “use the energy that the event brings—that the crowd brings. It’s an awesome opportunity because you don’t get to play a top team everyday.”

The focus on Saturday will not just be on the game between the two varsity squads, however. First, the Harvard athletics department will be celebrating 100 years of men’s soccer at the university. In addition, alumni of both schools will face off at 9 a.m. on Ohiri Field as an anniversary celebration of the Final Four matchup between the Crimson and the Blue Devils in the 1986 NCAA Tournament.

Game time for the collegiate contest will be at 1 p.m. following an alumnae game for the Harvard women’s soccer team.

—Staff writer Gabriel M. Velez can be reached at gmvelez@fas.harvard.edu.