Harvard Routed by Terriers in Road Contest

After having two of its last three games postponed due to rain, and losing the third in overtime, the Harvard men’s soccer team sought its first win away from Ohiri Field in over three weeks Tuesday night against Boston University. However, finding itself a goal down after less than five minutes of play was not the start the team had envisioned.

This beginning was just the first of the many disasters that the Crimson would have to weather throughout the night.

Harvard’s long anticipated second road triumph once again eluded the Crimson (3-3-0), as it was crushed by the Terriers (3-4-2) by a score of 5-1.

“I think we played a BU team that’s very talented but that hasn’t hit on all cylinders yet,” coach Jamie Clark said. “We were worried it might be the night they would do it, and it certainly was.”

“Anytime you lose like that, it’s a learning experience,” said senior defender and co-captain Luke Sager.

Harvard crossed the Charles River to take on BU at Nickerson Field, hoping to attain victory in its last game before the start of the Ivy League matchups.

The game started out very quickly, with the Terriers scoring their first goal from a deflected 40-yard shot from midfield. But junior forward Andre Akpan tied the score just seconds later, heading in a free kick by junior midfielder Brian Grimm.

However, this would prove to be the only goal that the Crimson’s offense could muster. Harvard had several good looks throughout the night but was unable to connect with the back of the net after Akpan’s third goal of the year.

This was not the only problem the Crimson faced during the night. Senior midfielder and co-captain Michael Fucito left the game midway through the first half with an injury, removing Harvard’s leading scorer.

On the other side of the field, the Terriers meticulously worked around the Crimson defense, scoring twice more on consecutive possessions. A penalty kick and a blocked pass turned unassisted goal gave BU a 3-1 lead at halftime.

“We gifted them three early ones and made it easy on them,” Clark said.

After the break, Harvard came out with the same intensity with which it began the game, moving up and down the field quickly. The Crimson had two great chances to score courtesy of a pair of excellent crosses by junior midfielder Adam Rousmaniere, but the ball just barely missed the net both times.

BU took advantage of Harvard’s misfortune, adding its fourth and fifth goals within three minutes of each other halfway through the second period.

“We still had a chance until the fourth one went in,” Clark said. “I don’t think this scoreline was indicative of the game necessarily.”

“We were pretty down going into halftime,” Sager added. “Still, we came out to compete [in the second half], but after that first goal went in, it broke the guys’ spirits. We had a lot of unlucky breaks tonight, and we didn’t have as many chances as we usually have.”

On the back of last night’s disappointing performance, the Crimson looks to rebound in its first Ivy League game against rival Yale.

Coach Clark expressed his hope that the manner of the defeat would kick his team into gear heading into Saturday’s matchup.

“I don’t think you can have any greater motivation going into our Ivy League season,” Clark said. “We believe we are a team that’s better than that result, so we’ll have to find out Saturday.”