Men's Soccer Extends Win Streak to Two

Despite their similar records, the two teams that squared off at Soldiers Field Saturday evening were coming from two very different points in their season: Harvard (3-6-2, Ivy 2-1-0) had just come off of an upset of defending league champion Cornell while Brown (3-6-3, 0-1-2) was seeking its first win since October 1st.

The Bears will have to wait for their next game to end their now-four game losing streak, however, as the Crimson emerged victorious, 2-1, for its second straight Ivy League win since opening conference play with a last-minute loss to Yale.

The first half saw the majority of activity from the Crimson offense, as Harvard had multiple chances to score. Senior midfielder Ross Friedman had two opportunities just 80 seconds into the game, with one being blocked by Bears keeper Josh Weiner and another stopped by a Brown defender.

Forward Daniel Smith and sophomore defender Mark Ashby also both had headers that just missed the goal in the early going.

The first goal of the game came from Ashby’s second effort on the goal, as he fielded the rebound from Friedman’s 30-foot strike to put the ball into the net.

Harvard’s second goal was more straightforward, as freshman midfielder Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu ran down a long ball along the right sideline and sent a cross that flew by most of the Bears’ defenders. Freshman forward Ashi Geberkidane got position on his shorter defender and flew in to head the ball cleanly into the goal, netting what proved to be the deciding goal for the Crimson. The goal put Harvard in unprecedented territory, as it marked the team’s first 2-0 advantage of the entire year

“The first 20 minutes of the game was probably the best offense we played all year, maybe in a few years, honestly,” senior midfielder Kevin Harrington said. “I think we could have had three or four goals, no problem.”

Brown retaliated with a header goal of its own in the 36th minute, as senior forward Voltaire Escalona set up sophomore midfielder Jack Gorab for the Bears only goal of the game.

According to coach Pieter Lehrer, Harvard had more energy coming into this game and, since Ivy League play began, has displayed tremendous heart after suffering a difficult loss to open conference play.

“The guys are obviously fighting, and their play is improving with their fight”, said head coach Pieter Lehrer. “It’s the same thing on the practice field, it’s been our possession on training is a lot better. We’re getting a lot calmer on our attacking half. We’re executing our set pieces, so it’s good.”

Harvard’s sophomore keeper Evan Mendez came up with numerous clutch, diving stops and ended with six saves. He remains undefeated for the season with a 3-0-1 record. His counterpart on the Brown side, senior Josh Weiner, notched five saves of his own.

“When you put everything out on the line, sometimes you’re going to lose, but you have to put it all out on the line”, said Lehrer, regarding the talk he had with his players after the Yale defeat.  “That was the result that night, but as we keep putting it out there, the results are going to change to our favor.”

Though all the scoring came in the first 36 minutes of the first half, the second half did not lack excitement. Brown maintained strong offensive pressure throughout the half, culminating in the 87th minute, when junior defender Alex Markes sent a cross towards the right side of the goal which collided solidly with the right goalpost. Markes’ shot was the closest that the Bears came to tying the game, as Harvard was able to prevent Brown from coming any closer in the remaining minutes.

“With the lead, we knew they’d be putting a lot of offensive pressure on us … so we knew they were going to come out and score as many goals as they possibly could”, Harrington said. “The back line maintained pressure on the ball and maintained high line, and [didn’t just sit back and take] pressure after pressure and attack after attack. I thought this game was a vast improvement.