Men's Soccer Looks for First Win of Season Against Eagles

In its second year under coach Pieter Lehrer, the Harvard men’s soccer team (0-3-0) has endured a second rough opening to the season. A year ago, the Crimson was outscored 8-2 as it dropped its first three contests to Iona, Davidson, and Providence. In 2014, the quality of the opposition—two of Harvard’s first three opponents, St. John’s and Georgetown, are likely tournament teams—and scoring margin (2-6) have improved, but the record remains the same.

The early struggles have largely come on the offensive side of the ball. Heading into Tuesday’s home opener against Boston College (3-1-1), the Crimson has struggled to score—just two goals in three games—despite generating 21 shots on goal. That translates to a meager 10 percent conversion percentage, less than half of what Harvard achieved in Lehrer’s first season.

“Creating lots of chances and making sure we hit the back of the net are the important things,” junior co-captain Mark Ashby said. “We are almost there.”

Boston College junior goalkeeper Alex Kapp, who has given up only three goals all season, will test the offense throughout the game. After giving up one goal in a double-overtime tie against Iona, he posted three straight shutouts before giving up two goals to Clemson in a 2-0 loss Friday night. Against a Crimson squad that has not scored more than one goal in any game, Kapp will look to get back on track.

However, the lack of goals belies what has been an across-the-board general improvement in the Crimson offense. Harvard has averaged 14.0 shots through the first three games, a full two better than last year. Albeit in a small sample size, corner kicks and shots on goal per game are up 24 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

“All the parts are there and we see it day in and day out and it hasn’t gotten to the field yet but we are not far off,” Lehrer said.

Lehrer says that this team has the same potential to flip a switch as the 2013 squad. Having won only one of its first nine games, the Crimson turned its season around with a 2-1 midseason win over defending league champion Cornell. The victory jumpstarted a stretch of five consecutive Ivy League wins as the team surged from last place to first.

“This is a team that can make a very deep run in the playoffs,” Lehrer said. “I know [that] where we are at that doesn’t look like the obvious answer.”

The Harvard defense—whose performance Ashby called “unacceptable” on Sunday—will be forced to defend a multifaceted Eagles attack. Boston College has generated nearly 15 shots a game, twice what it has allowed, in racking up eight goals across its first five games.

Sophomore forwards Zelko Lewis and Isaac Normesinu anchor the Eagles’ attack up front. The two have combined for five goals and 32 shots early on. Putting those numbers in perspective, the Eagles’ opponents have combined for just three goals and 36 shots.

Co-captain Kyle Henderson noted that even though the team has given up few shots on goal—just 13 through three games—its lapses have been quickly exploited.

Henderson said that leading up to the game, the team will focus on quickly identifying and correcting the errors that have led to the scores.

“For whatever reason, we are giving up goals and we need to find out what that comes down to,” Henderson said. “You can defend well 95 percent of the game, but if there is five percent that doesn’t go well, that’s enough.”

Henderson said that there is no panacea for the Crimson’s problems, and the team will have to work hard to turn it around.

“There is no magic fix,” Henderson said. “It is just looking at the film and seeing what we do well to keep moving things forward.”

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at david.freed@thecrimson.com.