Providence No Match for No. 17 Harvard

In an unusual turn of events for the men’s soccer team, the Crimson played at Cumnock Turf instead of at its customary home of Ohiri Field due to inclement weather from the recent nor’easter.

But yesterday’s non-conference game against Providence (7-6-3) was, in the end, business as usual. Once again No. 17 Harvard (9-3-0) emerged victorious, extending its winning streak to six games with its 3-1 win. Seniors John Stamatis and co-captain Michael Fucito each had a goal and an assist to lead the Crimson, which now holds a 5-0 record at home and sits atop the Ivy League.

“Right now you have to get results. And we got a good result today,” coach Jamie Clark said.

Harvard got off to a sluggish start in the first half, failing to muster much pressure on the Providence side of the pitch.

“We just came off a pretty hard game against Princeton; it’s a midweek game—it’s hard sometimes to get up for these,” Fucito said of the Crimson’s slow opening.

Luckily, the Friars were not doing much on offense either, failing to make headway against the staunch Harvard defense. The teams combined for only seven shots in the first 36 minutes of play.

Providence managed to jump ahead at 36:04 when a Crimson defender was called for a foul in the home team’s box. Friar Ryan Maduro converted the penalty kick low right, tallying his second goal of the season.

Harvard quickly responded five minutes later, when Fucito sprinted down the right sideline, shook off defenders, and delivered a cross to junior Andre Akpan. His header past Providence goalie Tim Murray was Akpan’s seventh of the season.

Buoyed by the newly-evened score and no longer going against the wind, Harvard came out on the attack in the second half.

“Once we were able to run at them and open them up a little bit, then things started to come together,” Fucito said.

Harvard began its onslaught three minutes into the half, as Fucito sent a cross just wide. Two minutes later, Akpan followed with a shot saved by Murray. Stamatis also got into the action with an attempt, which went wide left in the 58th minute.

Another six minutes passed before the Providence keeper knocked down a charging Akpan in the box, as both were chasing the ball. After a penalty was called, Stamatis knocked in the free kick, his fourth score of the season, to give the Crimson a lead it would not relinquish.

Harvard continued to dominate the midfield action, and its reward came at 70:33, as Stamatis made a quick pass to Fucito, whose left foot took care of the rest.

It was Fucito’s league-leading ninth goal of the year. Their performances moved Akpan and Fucito into a third-place tie on the all-time Harvard goal list with 32 apiece.

Before the game ended, Providence took a few more corner kicks, but the Friars never threatened to score, while the Crimson kept forcing Murray to make saves up until the final minute.

Clark was pleased with the way Harvard bounced back in the second half, attempting as many shots (9) in 45 minutes as Providence did the entire game.

“The first half we didn’t have a rhythm. They clogged up the middle and we weren’t willing to go wide,” Clark said. “We really wanted to start opening the game up…I’m very happy with the second half.”

Also noteworthy was the defense’s efforts in stopping Maduro, who received a yellow card for an aerial tussle with co-captain Luke Sager in the 83rd minute.

“I thought [junior Kwaku Nyamekye] was brilliant in the back,” Clark said. “Maduro is one of the ten best players in the country, and he had him handled for most of the game.”

Now sporting a record of 6-0-0, freshman goalie Austin Harms played all 90 minutes, and he faced no shots except the penalty kick. Murray made four saves for the Friars.

The Crimson led in shots, 14-9, for the game but trailed in corner kicks, 6-4.

Harvard will travel to take on a competitive Dartmouth team Saturday night in a match-up crucial for taking the league title.

“They’re going to be very good, so we’re in for a battle,” Fucito said. “If we can put together two halves of soccer like we played in the second half, we’re going to be very hard to beat.”