Kelly Finishes to Lift M. Soccer of UMass 1-0

Despite gusting winds and a bright sun, both Harvard and UMass managed to sleep their way through the first half of the Crimson's 1-0 win yesterday at Ohiri Field.

Although Harvard heard its alarm clock at halftime and promptly stirred to action, the Minutemen hit the snooze button and didn't wake up until the game was nearly over.

And by that time, Ryan Kelly had become their worst nightmare.

The captain's diving header off of a low cross from fellow senior Matt Edwards in the 76th minute was the only score Harvard (5-3-1, 0-2 Ivy) needed to topple the Minutemen (7-4-2, 3-0-1 Atlantic 10).

"Midweek games have always been tough to get up for," said Crimson junior goalkeeper Dan Mejias. "We started out really slowly."

Fortunately for Harvard, UMass had the same problem, and the consequences were apparent early. The usually chatty pitch was eerily silent, and neither team was able to communicate effectively.

When three Harvard defenders failed to step up and call for a cross floating in the box in the 12th minute, the ball landed at the feet of UMass midfielder Derek Rhodes, who ripped a shot wide.

Just minutes later at the other end of the field, Minuteman defender Shawn Green conceded a corner kick to the Crimson when he knocked the ball out of his own goalkeeper Bryan O'Quinn's hands and over the endline.

UMass did manage to create the only dangerous opportunity of the first half, when junior forward Fred Kinateder gained control of an errant Harvard backpass in the 23rd minute. Dribbling just inside the Crimson box, Kinateder fired a shot that a diving Mejias was able to knock away.

"I was backpedaling, and he could have done a lot with that shot," Mejias said. "He could have chipped it, but I pressured him and made the save."

After an uneventful remainder of the first half, Harvard shook off its lethargy and came out stronger after halftime. Were it not for O'Quinn's brilliance in goal, the Minutemen might have found themselves in a deep hole earlier in the second half.

61 minutes into the match, Kelly nearly struck his first, also on a header. After a sequence of passes, freshman Kevin Ara headed it to Kelly who nearly beat O'Quinn to the left corner.

In the 65th minute, O'Quinn fully extended his 5 foot-10 frame and robbed Buan of an almost certain goal from 16 yards out.

O'Quinn, however, could not silence the energized Crimson much longer. When Edwards received a pass from freshman midfielder Ladd Fritz and drilled a low cross into the box, a wide-open Kelly dove headfirst and redirected the ball into the left corner of the net.

"Matt played a great ball and all I had to do was direct it in," said Kelly, who now has a team leading three goals to go along with his four assists.

Finally coming to life, the Minutemen were able to create one golden opportunity in the form of a Seth Lilburn breakaway with three minutes left to play. Mejias, however, came well off his line to cut down the angle and force Lilburn to push his shot wide left.

Although UMass was finally beginning to pick up its pace of play, time expired before it could generate another scoring opportunity.

"Our problem was we didn't come out to play today," said UMass Head Coach Sam Koch. "This game was a wake-up call for us."

And fortunately for Harvard, the alarm went off 45 minutes earlier, when there was still enough time to get a goal.