Men's Soccer Downs BC, Maintains Streak

Many college soccer teams like to claim that they are deep—that they rely on a wealth of different players to score goals, record shutouts, and ultimately win games.

This kind of talk sounds nice. But what sounds nicer, and what actually matters at the end of the season, is whether squads can substantiate pregame platitudes with in-game performance.

Last night against crosstown rival Boston College, Harvard (6-3-2, 1-0-1 Ivy) accomplished just this feat. The Crimson earned a hard-fought 2-0 win at Newton Campus Field thanks to early goals from freshman midfielder Taner Dogan and junior forward Tyler Savitsky. Neither of those players had recorded a score this season.

The win extended a five-game unbeaten streak and kicked off an extended road stretch that will last until November. More than that, the performance answered that eternal nagging question: So really, how deep is Harvard?

The answer, at least according to one night’s box score, is that not many teams are deeper.

“It was a good win for us,” senior defender Alex Leondis said. “It’s always a big game when we play BC. I thought we did really well. We came out, we scored a goal in the first 5 minutes. Our mentality throughout the entire 90 minutes was the same, and we fought every minute from the first until the last.”

Coming into the game, Harvard anticipated facing a strong BC team that had played against top programs in the country and hung tough. But the Crimson had an impressive track record of its own, having come posted a dominant victory against Cornell this past weekend.

The visitors’ momentum and confidence continued into Tuesday’s game, as Harvard started out strong. Dogan set the tone for the Crimson attack right from the starting whistle, taking Harvard’s first shot on goal.

Although BC’s Cedric Saladin saved the shot, sending the ball out of bounds, Dogan found another opportunity moments later. Junior defender Justin Crichlow found Dogan off a throw-in, and Dogan found the back of the net, giving Harvard a 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the game.

“Anytime you get an early goal takes a little pressure off because the other team has to chase,” Leondis said. “We focus on what we do and not so much who we’re playing, and every time we get the early goal, it kind of helps us and lifts us a little bit more.”

BC responded with renewed intensity but only managed to pick up a pair of fouls to respond to Harvard’s early lead.

Seventeen minutes after Dogan’s goal, sophomore forward Cesar Farias slid a pass into someone who had previously played behind him—Savitsky. Once an outside back, the junior had moved to midfield after an injury during a match against Yale.

Now thanks to this new position, Savitzky was at the top of the box with the ball and a window of opportunity for a shot. The converted back sent the ball forward past BC’s Saladin for a two-score lead.

“It was my first time getting up at midfield in a while,” Savitzky said. “It felt really good to make an impact and help the team.”

Once again, BC responded with a quick attack. In the next few minutes following Savitzky’s goal, the Eagles soared to the attacking third, taking two shots. Harvard, determined to hold onto its comfortable lead, maintained a tight defense and refused to yield any goals for the rest of the half.

The second part of the game shifted definitively to the Crimson’s defensive efforts. While the visitors ended the half leading BC in shots taken, Harvard trailed in the second half.

BC came out with offense on its mind, and in the first 20 minutes, the Eagles found multiple shot opportunities. While BC’s heightened attack provided opportunities, these opportunities generally proved inaccurate, with many shots going high or wide.

The second half also turned scrappy, with both teams fighting hard and thereby picking up multiple fouls and even a couple of yellow cards.

Ultimately, however, the Crimson stood tall, outlasting the Eagles and pulling out the shutout win.

“BC is a really well regarded and a really strong team,” Savitsky said. “To be able to go into their place and...actually beat them builds a lot of confidence in us. Hopefully we just keep that momentum into the next game this weekend.”

—Staff writer Katherine H. Scott can be reached at katherinescott@college.harvard.edu.