Crimson Says Goodbye to Accomplished Senior Class

52 wins. Two Ivy League Championships. Four post-season appearances. No matter how you measure it, the men’s soccer Class of ’09 has had a memorable run.

When their season ended last Sunday with a loss to Maryland in the third round of the NCAA tournament, what many are calling Harvard’s most talented class ever walked off Ohiri field for the last time.

Their impact on the program, though, will be felt for a long time. When this group of seniors entered Harvard in the 2006 season, the team was painfully mediocre. The Crimson had gone 6-8-2 the previous season, and had been hovering around .500 since 1996.

But during the seniors’ tenure, the team has had four consecutive twelve-plus win seasons, and is making a name for itself around the country.

“They’ve definitely put this program on track to maybe become a national powerhouse,” freshman forward Brian Rogers says. “They won the Ivy League as freshmen, and they’ve made the tournament every year.”

“This senior class has raised the expectations for the whole team,” adds Jamie Clark, who took over the Harvard coaching job last season. “With that comes a pride in the program.”

Co-captains Andre Akpan and Brian Grimm, defender Kwaku Nyamekye, and midfielders Adam Rousmaniere and Desmond Mitchell make up the five-some, all of whom held a starting spot on this year’s roster.

“They each brought something unique,” Rogers says. “They all provided a great example of how to be responsible and play well and hold yourself as a Harvard soccer player.”

Akpan, undoubtedly the best player on the Harvard team, scored 12 of the team’s 32 goals this season, and tied or broke nearly every Crimson offensive record in his career.

“He’s going to be in the record books for a long time to come,” Clark says. “He put the ceiling high for everyone.”

Akpan missed a penalty kick in Sunday’s game—a goal that would have given him sole possession of the all-time Harvard scoring record—and remains tied with Chris Ohiri ’64. Akpan graduates at the end of this semester, and will very likely be drafted into Major League Soccer.

Nyamekye, who at times resembled a brick wall in the Harvard defense, also has a potential career in soccer ahead of him.

“Kwaku will be very difficult to replace,” Clark says. “I think he’s the best defender in college soccer. Physically, he can handle any attacking player in the country.”

Nyamekye and the Harvard defense held opponents to 15 goals in 19 games this season.

But even beyond superstardom on the field, the Crimson’s seniors have provided much needed leadership as the program has developed.

Grimm, one of the co-captains, is a quieter leader of the team, as well as a talented midfielder. Described by his coach as “the glue of the midfield,” the New Jersey native has proven to be a valued stalwart, starting 26 of 27 games over his last two seasons.

Just as important as Grimm’s guidance on the pitch, fellow midfielder Mitchell serves an important role to his teammates off the field. In addition to tallying seven points on the year, Mitchell is known as a mentor on the team, constantly looking out for the younger players.

Rousmaniere, also in the midfield, is as a smart passer and goal creator, and tied for the team lead in assists. The “set-piece guy,” according to Clark, Rousmaniere was often the one to feed Akpan for a goal.

But the team will remember the seniors for far more than their skill and success.

“For all their talent and all the wins that they’ve put up over four years, they were very team oriented and very caring,” Clark reflects. “They brought along the young guys, put a sense of community into the team, and created a great culture and a happy culture.”

The loss of these five players next year will deal a crushing blow to Harvard, but the team feels that it will be able to remain strong.

“The standards and expectations [the seniors] have left will just have to be filled by the new guys,” Clark says. “We have a lot of eager boys who believe they could be playing already this year. They’ll get their chance to prove it.”

Rogers, who will be taking on a great deal of the goal-scoring responsibility next year, agrees.

“Guys are really going to have to step up,” the freshman says.

The graduating class has created a vast amount of respect for the team, and set the bar higher than it has been in decades. And while the seniors know that they depart with a tremendous legacy, they too have confidence that their successors will uphold the program’s growing pedigree.

“Getting to the Tournament—while that’s an accomplishment—I don’t think that’s good enough any more,” Grimm says. “From here on out there are going to be high expectations for the team, and they will be expected to compete for an Ivy League championship every year.”