Rash of Injuries Forces Youth Movement for Harvard’s Maturing Back Line

As injuries have mounted and the season has unfurled for the Harvard men’s soccer team, youth has become the name of the game.

Yesterday, despite the absence of its most noticable rookie­—John Stamatis—Harvard (4-8-2, 0-4-1 Ivy) played one its youngest line-ups yet. Stamatis sat out of the 2-1 loss to Holy Cross (8-7-0, 2-4-0 Patriot) because of a red card he was given in a loss to Dartmouth this past weekend.

Three games ago, freshman Michael Giammanco returned from a broken clavicle, and ever since, he and fellow classmates Peter Glenmullen and Marcel Perl have been in the back line along with captain Will Craig.

“Giammanco would have been playing from the get-go if he had not had a broken clavicle,” Harvard coach John Kerr said.

Against Holy Cross, the young tandem was joined by sophomore goalie Adam Hahn—who was starting his first game this season.

“It was a good opportunity for [Hahn] to get some same experience,” Kerr said. “He’s been doing well in practice and it was a good time to rest [senior Ryan Johnson].”

While the Crimson’s overall play was not flawless in yesterday’s contest, the freshmen in the back had a number of up-and-down moments.

In goal, Hahn made a number of key saves—including one from his knees that he deflected up into the crossbar in the first half to keep the score at 0-0—and was extremely vocal as he directed the defense. He also made six saves on the day.

Other highlights from the freshman class include Perl’s cross late in the second half that nearly led to the tying goal.

After a play in the Holy Cross penalty box, the ball was cleared out to Perl—who had a lot of space between himself and the defense. With Kerr yelling “backpost,” Perl placed a near-perfect long ball across the field and just into the top of the box. His target, senior Charles Altchek, was just not quite able to get to the pass as the Crusaders’ goaltender, Keith Bauer, came out and snatched the ball.

Perl also played tight defense on Holy Cross’ leading scorer, Josh Trott, after a break in the defensive line led to Trott’s ninth goal of the season.

“[Perl] came in right away and was been a solid right back this season,” Craig said. “He can defend well and can get foward in a heartbeat.”

On the flip side of the coin, the inexperienced defensive play led to two shots that were able to beat Hahn, ultimately resulting in the loss for the Crimson. The game winning goal, in particular, came on blown coverage as Holy Cross’ Marsalis Beckford had an open shot from the top left of the penalty box that he was able to get off right before a desperate Craig came sliding in to attempt to block the shot.

“I’m pretty happy with the guys we have back there,” Craig said. “I think that they will become a premier defense at some point in the future.”

—Staff writer Gabriel M. Velez can be reached at gmvelez@fas.harvard.edu.