NOTEBOOK: Stadium Produces World-Cup Atmosphere

He may not yet be Landon Donovan, but Brian Rogers certainly had a flair for the dramatic Saturday night.

In a goal reminiscent of the USA soccer star’s own against Algeria, the Harvard sophomore scored the go-ahead tally in the 80th minute to send the No. 10 Crimson men’s soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 victory against No. 13 Stanford.

After getting past two Cardinal defenders and kicking the ball past sliding Stanford goalie Jason Dodson, Rogers pulled his shirt over his head, then ran to the nearest corner arc to celebrate with his teammates—much like Donovan did after his game-winner.

It was a fitting climax to a game that had a World Cup-like atmosphere throughout, with over 3,000 fans packing into the brand-new Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium and making persistent noise.

“I think tonight we captured a small piece of the excitement of big time college soccer in this country,” Harvard coach Carl Junot said.

“We couldn’t stop talking about it,” added senior defenseman Robert Millock. “We really fed off [the fans’] energy. It was pretty special.”

A FRESH START

Before the season began, Coach Junot said he was unsure of how much playing time the seven members of his freshman class would get, indicating that a few of them may be able to contribute immediately while others would have to work their way into his rotation.

Yet on Saturday night, not only did Junot’s freshman play, they played a lot.

Five of seven members of the class of 2014 saw major action against Stanford, led by midfielder Kevin Harrington, who played a full 90 minutes.

Defender Ross Friedman, midfielders Obiajulu Agha and Kyle Henderson, and forward Connor McCarthy each also saw at least 33 minutes of action in their first collegiate games.

“It was a little intimidating,” Friedman said. “I wasn’t sure how I would match up to the speed of play, to the physicality. I think I immediately adjusted and did everything to help my team as much as I could.”

The five players weren’t the only first-timers out on the field for the Crimson. It was also Junot’s first game as a collegiate head coach.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

While much talk coming into the 2010 season surrounded the departure of a good deal of the team’s 2009 offensive firepower–Andre Akpan ’10, Adam Rousmanierre ’10, and Desmond Mitchell ’10 accounted for half the team’s scoring last year–no one was too concerned about the stability the team would have on the defensive end of the field.

That confidence proved warranted Saturday. With co-captains Jaren LaGreca and Millock–both of whom played the full 90 minutes–leading the way, the Harvard defense proved tough to break Saturday night.

“I thought we were pretty solid,” Millock said. “We’ve been working a lot defensively this preseason just on being organized.”

Stanford was only able to manage five shots on goal against Harvard goalie Austin Harms, while the Crimson, in contrast, got off nine attempts on Cardinal goalkeeper Jason Dodson.

“I thought if we could keep pressure high throughout the second half we could create the opportunities we wanted and give ourselves the chance to win the game,” Junot said. “I never foresaw Stanford getting to the point where they would really put it on us and go ahead in the second half.”

LaGreca’s veteran savvy was exemplified most towards the end of the contest, as Stanford threatened to tie things up with under thirty seconds on the clock. After Harms was caught out of place, leaving half the net exposed, LaGreca stepped in to use his body and deflect a Stanford shot attempt away from the net, preventing disaster.

REES’ PIECES

In 2009, midfielder Jamie Rees, then a sophomore, attempted nine shots.

It was therefore somewhat surprising when Saturday’s box score showed that Rees had taken only one less shot in one game than he had over all of last season.

Rees’ eight shots led the game by a wide margin, and his two shots on goal also tied for a game high.

“Jamie brings a ton of energy,” Millock said. “He’s entered into a much larger role this year than he had last year, and he’s embraced it...I think he did really well.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.