Men's Soccer Wins Sixth Straight, Picks up First Ivy Victory

Carrying a 1-0 lead into the final three minutes of play at Soldiers Field, the Harvard men’s soccer team (6-3-0, 1-0-0 Ivy) looked to be well on its way to a victory over Yale in its conference opener on Saturday night.

But the Crimson had been down this road before. Just a season ago, Harvard found itself in the exact same position against the Bulldogs, but the wheels fell off.

Despite taking the lead on a goal by then-senior A.J. Agha midway through the second half, the Crimson let a win slip through its fingers, conceding two goals in the final 2:15. The loss would prove costly, as Harvard fell short of an Ivy title by just half a game.

This season, however, history would not repeat itself, as the Crimson prevented Yale (0-7-2, 0-1-0) from recording a single shot in the final three minutes to earn the 1-0 win.

“Getting the shutout and making sure that we held on to our lead at the end showed great fight from the team,” junior co-captain Mark Ashby said. “Everyone worked really hard, and I was really impressed.”

Ashby was certainly the difference maker, anchoring the back line throughout the contest and providing a spark to the offense in the 66th minute.

After receiving a cross from sophomore midfielder Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, senior forward Hiroki Kobayashi began the attack. The veteran put together a string of moves to elude a Bulldog defender along the left sideline before feeding freshman midfielder Christian Sady with a pass.

Watching Kobayashi dart towards the edge of the box, Sady sent the ball right back to the forward, who crossed the ball into the midst of a crowded penalty area. Nonetheless, only one foot made its way onto the ball—Ashby’s.

“[Ashby has] talked a lot about converting those moments when he gets his chances, and he’s been working on it in training,” Harvard coach Pieter Lehrer said.

The goal is Ashby’s third of the season, tying him with fellow co-captain Kyle Henderson and sophomore defender Dan Smith for most on the team.

With Saturday’s victory, the Crimson extends its winning streak to six games. Harvard scored three or more goals in each of its first five contests, but it was the defense that propelled the Crimson to a win against the Bulldogs. Yale mustered just four shots on the night, only one of which was on target.

The back line had to execute without one of its starting center backs for most of the contest as well, as Smith left the game with an ankle injury following a collision with a Yale attacker. However, senior defender Tyler Evans stepped in and picked up right where Smith left off.

“It’s great that we have so many players that we can substitute in and have a very seamless change,” Ashby said. “We have a very concrete philosophy defensively, so it’s not hard for someone like Evans to come in and do a great job. He played wonderfully.”

On the opposite end of the pitch, Harvard launched 14 shots, with eight different players recording at least one attempt. Among those players was Henderson, who came on as a substitute after missing the last three games.

“The minutes Kyle [played] were very valuable to the team,” Ashby said. “He has a unique talent of getting pressure on the ball in all areas of the field…[and] forcing guys to make decisions that they don’t want to make.”

Lehrer acknowledged that plenty of preparation had been put in place for this game following last year’s result, and he was pleased with the team’s execution.

“This is a game where there’s a lot of emotion, and [we] came out and just worked hard,” Lehrer said. “[The guys] put in work, and their talent is starting to rise up.”

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jmeagher@college.harvard.edu.