Men's Soccer Can Clinch Ivy Title Against Quakers

It was a quiet bus ride back from New Haven.

Up 1-0 in the 85th minute, the Harvard men’s soccer team (7-7-2, 5-1-0 Ivy) had given up two goals in five minutes. It was the team’s 13th straight Ivy League loss. To that point, the team’s only win in two months had been a 2-1 win over UMass. On the horizon was a visit to defending league champion Cornell.

“That game was a crushing loss,” co-captain Kevin Harrington said. “We were barely talking and everyone was sitting to themselves. It was a very tough environment for that 2.5 hour bus ride.”

As the team’s bus neared Cambridge, however, coach Pieter Lehrer stood up.

“He told us we had to have faith in the process,” Harrington said. “[He said] things will turn around.”

And, in turn, they did. Harvard won its next game in double overtime on a Harrington goal. It took its next four games by a goal each, never trailing in its next 360 minutes of league play. Heading into its final league game against Penn (7-8-1, 4-4-1), the Crimson has a chance to clinch the Ancient Eight on Senior Night.

Much of the progress has been due to the players the team will honor before playing the Quakers. Co-captain Ross Friedman leads the Ivy League in assists, dominating the center of the field as the focal point of the Crimson’s offense. Harrington leads the team in goals and is the team’s vocal leader on the field.

However, both seniors note the biggest different between this year’s team and last year’s—which failed to win a single league game for the second consecutive year—is Lehrer.

“He understands the struggle that we have had the past few years and what he really wants us to focus on is putting ourselves out there,” Friedman said. “It is difficult after a few tough seasons to put yourself out there. It is easier to be conservative if you aren’t seeing success but…breaking out of your shell and putting yourself out there has been key for us this year.”

Friedman said that Lehrer has focused on getting the team to completely buy into the “process” that he celebrates—focusing on improvement every day and taking the positives away from each performance, win or loss, while getting rid of the negatives.

“No matter if we are up or down, 5-0, we will approach the game the same way and analyze it after,” Friedman said. “We are going to keep the good stuff and keep improving. Every game we add more things—defending set pieces, deflecting balls, etc.”

Against Penn, Harvard will be seeking revenge. The Quakers have beaten Harvard the last two years, including a 3-1 win last year in Philadelphia to end the season. Led by forward Duke Lacroix, who leads the Ancient Eight with seven goals, Penn has posted a plus-five goal margin in league play. Its 27 goals overall lead the Ivy League. Yet, Lehrer said that this week in practice has centered not on Penn, but on getting the team rest and continuing what it has done all year.

“As you get to the end of the season, the players are a bit fatigued—all players are because it is a grind of a season—and sometimes they need to rest, and rest is the best thing,” Lehrer said. “Sometimes it isn’t working hard but getting rest and recovering. We will do the same thing in training and get them a bit sharper and tighter but nothing really changes for us.”

Six weeks after the long bus ride from New Haven, Harvard enters the game with newfound championship aspirations. What appeared unachievable after one game of play is only a tie away for the Crimson.

However, Friedman—whose four Harvard squads have never finished higher than sixth place—and the team are staying in the present. The senior said that against Penn the team will follow the simple formula it has all season: letting go of the past and pushing for the future.

“Your mind is a powerful thing, and sometimes it holds you back,” Friedman said. “You have to let that go and let your mind take you to greatness. Every game, every practice, you want to put yourself out there and that’s the only thing.”