Shorthanded Men's Soccer Falters at Boston College

The No. 18 Harvard mens soccer team (3-2, 1-0 Ivy) suffered its second straight loss as it dropped a 3-2 decision against Boston College (4-2, 3-1 Big East) at the Newton Campus Soccer Field yesterday.

Sophomore transfer student Neil Krause scored his first two goals of the season to help propel the Eagles to their third home win in as many games.

With starters Mike Lobach, Kevin Ara and Ladd Fritz sitting out with red card suspensions carried over from Sundays match against Loyola Marymount, Crimson Coach John Kerr was forced to tinker with a starting lineup that was really starting to gel after a 3-1 start to the year. Three freshmen were inserted into the starting lineup, including James Roth, who started his first game in goal for the Crimson.

B.C. junior midfielder Bobby Thompson opened up the scoring in the sixth minute of play, taking a pass from Bill Arnault before chipping a shot that dropped in over Roth. Martin Cantillo also assisted on the play.

For the second game in a row, the Crimson struggled to develop any kind of offensive rhythm in the first half. B.C. carried the play for most of that stretch, applying constant pressure to the Crimson defense.

Harvard freshman back Jason Anderson, who received his first start of the season, faced the daunting task of marking B.C. star junior forward Casey Shmidt. Kerr made an exception by having his defenders play man-to-man on Schmidt, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year in the Big East Conference, a league filled with powerhouse teams, including 2000 National Champion University of Connecticut. Schmidt has compiled 24 goals in just 39 career games.

Anderson did a commendable job keeping Schmidt off the scoreboard. His job got a little bit easier when Schmidt was forced to leave the game for good after a serious collision with Roth late in the half.

The Eagles did not let up, however, as sophomore Krause put them up 2-0 on a score only seconds before the end of the half. After a scramble for control of the ball in the box, Krause collected the ball and fired a shot that went in after deflecting off several players.

It did not take the Crimson long to develop its level of intensity from its first four games in the season. Freshman forward Jeremy Truntzer took a through ball from junior defender Michael Cornish and calmly chipped the goalie on a breakaway in the 54th minute, bringing Harvard within one goal.

Truntzers score breathed new life into the Crimson attack. The offensive pressure paid off again in the 72nd minute when senior forward Nick Lenicheck took a pass from senior midfielder Michael Peller and struck a blast into the upper right corner from about 25 yards out.

The Crimson had clawed back and clearly had the momentum in its favor with the score knotted at 2-2 and about 18 minutes to play in regulation.

But then Krause put his stamp on the game in the 82nd minute when he collected a pass fom Bill Arnault and hit a shot that deflected off Crimson junior defender Joe Steffa for the game-winner. Sophomore forward Adam Pfeifer assisted on the play.

Today was a tough loss against a good team, Anderson said. Were looking forward to bouncing back with a big win against Maine on Saturday.

With Lobach, Ara and Fritz back on the field, the Crimson will regain some invaluable leadership and experience. Stepping back onto Ohiri Field for some homecooking after playing four of their first five games on the road will not hurt either.

This is a good learning experience for us early in the season, said freshman midfielder Pablo Koe-Krompecher. It was a tough loss but were only going to get better.