Bring on the Bruins: Men's Soccer Hopes for Sweet Sixteen Berth

Far from home, the Harvard men’s soccer team is looking for something sweet.

The Crimson will square off against No. 8 seed UCLA at 10:00 pm EDT tonight for a shot at the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.

Harvard (14-4-0), which has already traveled to sunny Los Angeles for the match, where the weather today was 80 degrees, will take Marshall Field in Westwood, Calif. The Crimson earned the trip after a come-from-behind first-round win against Binghamton. Sophomore Mike Fucito and Ivy League Freshman of the Year André Akpan scored the tying and winning goals in the victory.

By some measures, tonight’s game could just have easily been played in Cambridge: Harvard enters play No. 13 in the latest NSCAA/Adidas poll, where the Bruins are ranked 22. The Crimson enters the contest on a nine-game win streak, whereas UCLA finished 10-5-4 and lost twice—by 3-1 and 4-1 scores—to Pac-10 champion and No. 13 seed California.

For Harvard, the appearance in the NCAA tournament is its 12th such achievement in program history. Twice the Crimson has made the semifinals. It holds a 17-10-3 record all-time in the playoffs.

The winner of tonight’s game will play the winner of No. 9 seed Clemson and Gardner-Webb. That match has been rescheduled for 12 p.m. EDT tomorrow due to inclement weather.

—GABRIEL M. VELEZ