Second-Half Surge Drops Black Knights

The Harvard men’s soccer team knew it should have been more than a goal up at halftime against Army. Despite dominating the first 45 minutes of play and forcing the Black Knight’s goalkeeper—senior Nick Alexander—into six first half saves, the Crimson (4-0) had failed to score the all-important second goal.

“The guys were getting frustrated but I told them that we need to take pride in what we are good at—work rate and pressure,” Harvard coach Jamie Clark said.

“He really settled us down,” co-captain Andre Akpan said. “We had a different mindset going into the second half, wanting to be sharper and ready to pressure.”

Clark also singled out Akpan, urging the senior striker to get on the score sheet.

According to Clark, “[Akpan] came out ready to get some goals in the second half.”

It did not take Akpan long to make his mark. Six minutes into the second half, Akpan picked the ball up on the edge of the box, shifted it to his right, and curled it into the right side of the net to give the Crimson a two-goal cushion.

Harvard would go on to cap off a perfect weekend with an emphatic 4-0 win over Army (1-4) on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The victory should see Harvard enter the top 25 in the national rankings.

The match could not have started any better for the Crimson. After just 30 seconds of play, co-captain Brian Grimm played a long ball to the left corner that managed to find senior winger Desmond Mitchell, who was darting down the sideline. Mitchell dribbled past the Black Knights’ defenders and knocked the ball into the net at the far post to open the scoring.

“We were focused on coming out strong,” Mitchell said.

“With our high-pressure mentality, it was a great way to start the game.”

Mitchell spent the rest of the opening half tormenting the right side of the Army backline. The senior has started the season brightly after forcing his way into the starting lineup.

“I’m always looking forward to taking on people on the outside,” Mitchell said.

Despite creating chance after chance, Harvard was held scoreless for the rest of the period. While a one-goal lead is always somewhat tenuous, the Crimson defense looked completely comfortable, handling everything that the Black Knights threw at them with ease.

Senior Kwaku Nyamekye embodied the controlled manner with which the Harvard back four operated.

The game may have been all but over after the Crimson went up 2-0 in the 52nd minute, but Harvard was not finished.

In the 62nd minute, senior Adam Rousmaniere sent the ball across goal from the right, and, after a Mitchell miss-kick, freshman forward Brian Rogers tapped home for his second goal of the season.

The scoring was completed 12 minutes later, when Akpan grabbed his second goal of the match.

Rogers held off two Army defenders on the edge of the box, laying the ball back to Akpan, who fired past Alexander.

Akpan has now scored four goals in four games—a great start to his campaign to be named the nation’s top collegiate player.

Harvard continued to create opportunities until the final whistle, taking a total of 35 shots over the course of the game.

“Athletically, our attacking players separated themselves today,” Clark said.

“In one v. one situations, they looked like they would come out on top every time.”

Whereas Harvard was often skipping its midfield in the first half and trying to play the ball directly to Akpan, the second half saw the Crimson run everything through Grimm in the center.

“If we can get the ball from Kwaku through Grimm to [Akpan], then I like our chances every time,” Clark said.

“Usually it’s not as easy as it was today.”

—Staff writer Jay M. Cohen can be reached at jaycohen@fas.harvard.edu.