Men’s Soccer Season Awards

I hate to say I told you so, but I will anyway.

Earlier this year (September 17 to be exact), I predicted a slew of accolades for the Harvard men’s soccer team. My selections–Andre Akpan for Ivy Player of the Year, Brian Rogers for Rookie of the Year, and the Crimson as Ivy Champions–could have easily been cast aside as biased prognostications from a Cambridge-based columnist. Fast-forward two months and I’m now looking like a 21st-century Nostradamus.

All of my aforementioned predictions have come to fruition, and the three teams I picked to receive NCAA invites will be commencing their postseason campaigns this weekend. What happened to Penn, co-defending Ivy champions, who I picked to miss out on the tournament? Yeah, its season is done.

And what about the five individuals I singled out as players to watch in the league this year? Yup, all five made it onto the All-Ivy First Team.

I can’t, however, replace Miss Cleo as the new go-to psychic hotline. My call on the Princeton Tigers, who I said would “certainly contend” but narrowly miss out on postseason play, was way off. A mid-season slump gave way to a seven-game undefeated streak to end the season as the Tigers tore through the second half of their Ivy schedule. Princeton led the league with eight members receiving All-Ivy selections. The late-season run allowed the Tigers to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001. It also gave the Ivy League four representatives in the tournament, the most since 1977.

I thought Princeton had the makings of a good squad earlier this season–I did not think they would be this good so quickly.

THE IVY LEAGUE FIRST XI

In arguably one of the most impressive Ivy seasons ever, four teams battled until the last weekend of the season to decide the championship. Even Cornell, who finished 1-15 last year, enjoyed a successful campaign finishing at .500 with a 6-6-5 record. It wasn’t easy selecting my picks for the Ivy League First XI; don’t be surprised if you see a few of these players continuing their careers as professionals in the near future.

Goalkeeper: Austin Harms, Sophomore, Harvard

Can someone explain to me how a keeper who boasts a league-leading .66 goals-against-average and a .889 save percentage in Ivy play doesn’t merit consideration in any of the All-Ivy squads? Sure, Brown’s Paul Grandstand–selected as the goalkeeper on the All-Ivy first team–is a stud, but Harms’ statistics are better. All Harms did was anchor a league-leading defense that allowed the fewest goals while posting six shutouts and recording a higher cumulative save percentage than anyone in the league.

Defenders: Kwaku Nyamekye, Senior, Harvard; Josh Walburn, Junior, Princeton; Evan Coleman, Sophomore, Brown

Although Nyamekye wasn’t even a natural defender to start his career, the forward-turned-centerback has delivered four impressive years on the Crimson backline. He made it onto the All-Ivy first team for the second year in a row (one of only two players this year selected unanimously) and started all 17 games. Coleman and Walburn deserve recognition for their inspired play all year. As a midfielder/defender, Coleman scored six goals and had three assists for the Tigers, while Walburn led a Brown defense that allowed the second fewest goals in the league and only 14 all season.

Midfielders: Daniel Keat, Junior, Dartmouth; Nick Elenz-Martin, Senior, Brown; Antoine Hoppenot, Sophomore, Princeton; Sean Rosa, Sophomore, Brown

Keat, a member of the New Zealand national team, made the All-Ivy first team in his freshman year but an injury in 2008 rendered him unavailable for the entire season. The Kiwi came back strong this year, leading his team in points (seven goals, six assists), and started every game for the first time in his career. Sophomore Hoppenot led a young but ferocious Princeton attack (most goals scored in the league) with 10 goals and two assists. The Bear duo of Elenz-Martin and Rosa combined for nine goals and 10 assists as Brown earned its fifth consecutive invitation to the NCAA tournament.

Forwards: Andre Akpan, Senior, Harvard; Lucky Mkosana, Sophomore, Dartmouth; Brian Rogers, Freshman, Harvard

I could write an entire column on Akpan’s achievements; instead I’ll just say this: 11 goals, six assists, 4.0 shots per game (all, of course, tops in the league). Better pack your things now for St. Louis (home of the Hermann Trophy presentation); it might also be a good idea to prepare for the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Mkosana, second in the league with eight goals, built upon his Rookie of the Year campaign last season with 19 points and will be one of the top contenders for Player of the Year next season. His successor for Rookie of the Year, Brian Rogers, delivered an impressive inaugural season, augmenting Akpan’s contributions with six goals and five assists of his own. Fears of a Crimson decline after Akpan graduates should be subdued with the impressive play of a strong Harvard rookie class.

Honorable Mentions: midfielder Adam Rousmaniere, midfielder Brian Grimm (Harvard); defender Mark Linnville, forward Matt Sanner (Princeton); goalkeeper Paul Grandstand (Brown); midfielder Craig Henderson (Dartmouth); forward Matt Bouraee (Cornell)

Weekend Predictions

Boston College 3, Dartmouth 1

The Big Green eliminated the Eagles in a penalty shootout thriller last season en route to a quarterfinal appearance but I’m afraid the Hanover squad won’t be so lucky this time around. Dartmouth fell apart at the end of the season, losing four of its last six games, including a 3-0 loss against Brown. It was a surprising decline given its attacking options. The only hope: Boston College has lost both its games against Ivy League opponents this season (Harvard, 2-0 and Yale, 2-1).

Prediction: Princeton 2, Bucknell 1

The Tigers certainly deserve to still be playing given their play at season’s end and they impressed the NCAA committee enough to earn themselves a home game in the first round. The Bison haven’t played anyone of note this season but enter the tournament as Patriot League champions. Given the momentum Princeton enters the tournament with, I think it’ll get an easy result here. No. 2 Virginia looms ahead in the second round.

Prediction: Brown 2, Stony Brook 0

The Bears find themselves on the same side of the bracket as Dartmouth, but both teams will need to make the quarterfinals to face off. While the Big Green’s prospects look dour, Brown is hosting one of the two teams in the tournament with a sub-.500 record. The Seawolves have gone undefeated in their last seven games but a staunch Brown defense will put an end to their run. For sake of comparison, Stony Brook lost 4-1 to Harvard earlier this season.

The Crimson’s fourth straight NCAA appearance comes with a long overdue bye into the second round. The committee gave no favors to Harvard, however; the Crimson’s two possible second round opponents are both ranked in the top 15. The No. 7 Monmouth Muhawks (what?) out of New Jersey have lost only once this season and have already defeated two Ivy League teams (Cornell, 4-1 and Princeton, 1-0). They host No. 12 Connecticut, who you’ll painfully remember as the team who ravaged Harvard 4-0 earlier this season. The Huskies were upset in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, but despite having to travel to Monmouth, I believe they’re the favorites to play the Crimson on Sunday.

For a team that boasts arguably the greatest collection of Harvard talent since Chris Ohiri ’64 roamed the field, it would be a shame if the squad didn’t go far in the tournament. If the Crimon can make it past the first game on Sunday, I can see Harvard making a deep run (with No. 8 Maryland and No. 2 Virginia as the chief rivals to a quarterfinal berth).

Of course, I can only make educated guesses on the possible outcome of the Crimson’s season. Harvard will have to determine it for itself on the field.

Let the dances begin.

—Staff writer Mauricio A. Cruz can be reached at cruz2@fas.harvard.edu