Harvard Men's Soccer Falls to Columbia, 2-1

What should have been a spectacular finale was instead a humbling exit.

In the final home game for three of its players--graduating seniors midfielder Wells Mangrum, back Matt Edwards and captain Ryan Kelly--Harvard (7-8-1, 1-5-0 Ivy) succumbed to Columbia (8-5-2, 3-2-1 Ivy), 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

The day started on a high note, as Mangrum, Edwards, and Kelly came out onto the field for a pregame ceremony. The players were given flowers to the ovation of a grateful Harvard crowd who had witnessed four years of their competitive effort.

Two hours later, the Crimson mood was notably less festival. Though Harvard had long been eliminated from playoff contention, the team was distraught at its failure to win the game for its seniors.

"We're seriously disappointed," freshman back Isaac Kim said. "We wanted to go out and win the game for the guys, but we just couldn't play through."

The first half of the game was foreboding in itself. The Crimson looked sluggish from the start while the Lions seemed more intense when attacking the ball.

Still, the Harvard defense kept the ball on Columbia's side of the field for most of the half, giving the Crimson offense several chances to score. Sophomore back Mike Lobach, for instance, was noticeably effective on headers and clears.

Yet in what has been the story all season, the Crimson offense never put the ball into the net, despite numerous opportunities.

In the 18th minute, Lions freshman midfielder Tommy McMenemy fouled Mangrum just outside Columbia's penalty box. On the resulting free kick, Harvard freshman middle Andrew Nechtem nailed a header just wide left of the goal.

Later, in the 39th minute, Mangrum quickly brought the ball up the right side and crossed it into a crowd of players right in front of the Columbia goal. Yet, freshman forward Spencer George's shot was deflected. Several moments later, Mangrum had one of his own denied.

"It was the story of our season," Coach John Kerr said. "We dominated possession but didn't finish our scoring chances."

The Crimson backfield kept the game even at 0-0 going into halftime. The first half, however, wasn't nearly as uneventful as the score indicated; it was characterized by tough and physical play and marred with fouls.

In the 15th minute, Columbia defender Emeka Ofoldile nailed Kelly to receive a yellow card. The 38th minute was even more brutal. Sophomore back Joe Steffa suffered contact in his eye, while several moments later Lobach got elbowed hard in the stomach.

As the second half began, both teams came out charging, each getting several solid shots on goal. Harvard nearly broke open the scoring about 10 minutes into the half before getting stopped by an apparent non-call.

Kelly had the ball in the Columbia box, on the verge of scoring, when he was fouled hard with a kick to the ankle. Yet the whistle never blew as Kelly was carried off the field.

"The PK should've been given to Kelly," Kerr said. "Even Columbia's coach [Dieter Ficken] came up to me after the game and conceded that the refereeing is what killed us."

The non-call proved even more detrimental in the 62nd minute as Columbia senior forward Yassine Khendek blew a shot to the right of junior goalie Dan Meijas to put the Lions up 1-0.

About 10 minutes later, Columbia senior forward Tiger Fitzpatrick added to the score by taking a cross in the air and knocking it home.

"Columbia won the game on their counterattack, " Kim said. "We obviously dominated the possession, but they would clear the ball long and let their quick forwards get to it for the breakthrough."

Down 2-0, Harvard worked on a comeback. In the 77th minute, freshman forward Grayson Sugarman went down in Columbia's penalty box with a shove from Lions sophomore midfielder Michael Ching. Kelly took the direct free kick and scored with a low shot to the left.

Toward the final whistle, the Crimson made numerous fruitless attempts to tie the score. In the last minute, Sugarman and George both had shots on goal. But time ran out too soon as Harvard added to its four-game losing streak.

"We fought back," Kim said. "It was a good effort at the end. We just had too many mental breakdowns during the game...sometimes the execution wasn't there."

"It was disappointing, yes," Kerr said. "The seniors wanted to go out with a win...but that's just the way it goes sometimes."

Now, with a mostly unsatisfying season all but over, save a game at Penn on Saturday, all the Crimson can do is win a game for pride.

"We want to end on a high note," Kerr said. "We want to go out playing well."