Crimson Notches First League Victory

The Harvard men’s soccer team managed its first league victory of the season with a 1-0 win over Columbia Saturday.

Columbia (3-11-1, 0-5-0 Ivy) was hoping for a win of its own to end a seven-game winless streak and provide its veterans with a Senior-Day reward. The Crimson (5-8-2, 1-4-1) ended its own ignoble streak—eight games without a victory—on a goal from junior forward Charles Altchek, the league’s leading scorer.

“It’s nice to get a win,” said senior forward Nick Tornaritis. “That’s why we play the sport. We are a lot better than what our results are showing.”

“We didn’t think it would be an easier game because both teams were pretty desperate to get a win,” said senior forward and captain Will Craig. “We were ready for a battle.”

The game remained scoreless for the entire first half and long into the second half until Altchek was able to hit the net 72:39 minutes into the game.

Altchek received the ball in the middle after junior midfielder Tom Stapleton lofted him a pass. Altchek was then able to take the ball forward and up the middle to put him in perfect position to convert the game-winning shot.

It was Altchek’s 10th goal for the season.

“It was a great combination,” Craig said. “It was a real pretty goal with a couple of nice passes.”

Even though both teams played well the first half and both had important opportunities to score, neither were able to capitalize on their breaks. Columbia had a couple of chances to score in the second half as well, but a gritty Harvard defense was able to stop the Lions in their tracks.

After the 61st minute of play, Columbia’s John Mulhern kicked a shot that skimmed the top of the goal’s crossbar. He was able to get a second chance as he was set up on the left side, but a Crimson defender was able to clear the ball in a scramble at the net.

“There were a couple of moments when they had some good opportunities,” Craig said. “But we played strong [defense] and it definitely gave us a chance to win.”

Senior goalie Ryan Johnson had five saves, three in the second half. He recorded the shutout for the Crimson, his fourth for the year.

“[Johnson] had a bunch of awesome saves that kept us in the game,” Tornaritis said. “If you can get a shutout, you can win most of your games.”

Lions’ goalie Michael Testa had all four of his saves in the first half, which proved to be Columbia’s ultimate failing.

Even with this win Harvard has still fallen to seventh in the Ivy rankings, with only the Lions trailing. But the Crimson still has one Ivy League game left—its last game of the season.

“It’s definitely a nice feeling [to win], especially with only two games to go in the season,” Craig said. “It’s nice to get that win before our last game.”

Harvard faces Penn this Saturday at Ohiri Field.

—Staff writer Abigail M. Baird can be reached at ambaird@fas.harvard.edu.