Crimson Drops Defending Ivy Champs

For the first 20 minutes of Saturday night’s matchup between the top two teams in the Ivy League, No. 24 Brown bombarded Harvard with chance after chance. The Bears (8-3-1, 2-1 Ivy) dominated possession, had a shot miraculously blocked, and Crimson keeper Austin Harms was forced into a save with his feet from a point-blank header. It looked as if it was only a matter of time before the defending Ivy champions would open the scoring.

Then, all of a sudden, everything changed; the match was turned on its head, and with it, the course of the Ivy League season as the Crimson exploded to a 4-0 lead on the way to a 4-1 win in Providence, R.I. With the victory, the Crimson (6-3, 3-0) took control of the battle for the league crown.

Harvard sophomore Alex Chi received a pass on the left side and miskicked but fought hard to win the ball back, finding junior Andre Akpan on the edge of the box. Akpan shifted the ball onto his right foot and drilled it past the keeper and into the bottom right corner for the night’s first tally.

“They came out flying, but we were able to weather the storm and stay composed,” said co-captain Michael Fucito, who scored Harvard’s third goal of the match. “We showed up to play. Everything kind of came together tonight.”

The Crimson certainly chose a good night to show off its attacking prowess. The highly anticipated game pitted the 2006 Ivy champs against a nationally-ranked Bears team coming off six straight victories, not to mention its 2007 league title. A fierce determination characterized the faces of every Harvard player, and the passion was visible throughout in the cold Providence air.

As soon as Akpan scored, he went straight to the bench, and issued a loud rallying cry to his teammates. And they responded.

After being thoroughly outplayed for the first portion of the match, the Crimson looked a different team once taking the lead.

“We have weapons, and when they are clicking I think we can beat anyone in the country,” Harvard coach Jamie Clark said. “When Andre is on form and he’s getting other guys going, the team reacts. When he brings that emotion and he brings his quality, he’s potentially the best player in the country.”

Fucito had a few chances to double the lead but was unable to find the net. However, with just three minutes left in the half, it was junior Kwaku Nyamekye who made it 2-0. The ball seemed to bounce around the box for an eternity before somehow making its way to Nyamekye, who coolly slotted it home. It was that kind of night for Harvard.

In the second half, two great free kicks from junior midfielder Brian Grimm nearly found Akpan and co-captain Luke Sager, respectively. However, it was Brown that looked more likely to grab the all-important next goal. The Bears were not going to give up without a fight, and Harms was forced into a save to his left in the 59th minute.

Again, the Crimson was able to score at just the right time. Chi played the ball through to junior Adam Rousmaniere, who was darting down the right wing. Rousmaniere sent the ball back to Fucito, who rounded the keeper, easily scoring Harvard’s third goal of the match—his seventh on the season.

Following a great save from Harms, another beautiful counter-attack made it 4-0 just four minutes later. This time it was Fucito who put it through to freshman Baba Omosegbon for his first career goal. At 4-0, the Brown fans started heading for the exit, and the Crimson was home clear.

Even a late consolation from the Bears could not dampen the mood following the match. After defeating their most intense rival by such a lopsided scoreline, the Harvard players could hardly contain their smiles.

“If we can continue to play like we did tonight then I think we can make a good run—not just in Ivies, but also in the tournament,” Fucito said. “I’m pretty excited.”

For the first time this season, the Crimson has won three matches in a row. The great link-up play between Akpan and Fucito up front was manifest in the speed and precision of the Harvard counter-attack.

The Crimson’s skill with the ball was complemented by the work rate of the midfield of senior John Stamatis, Grimm, Rousmaniere, and, in particular, Alex Chi.

But as in the last few games for Harvard, everything started from the back. “Brown are always going to challenge you physically and put balls in the air in the box, and Luke Sager, Kwaku, and the entire back four stood strong and didn’t give them anything easy,” Clark said.

The manner of the win underlined the message that the Crimson was trying to send the team that ruined its season a year ago, and Harvard will now look to build off the result.

“We needed a big win to really get us going and prove our worth,” Akpan said. “We did that tonight.”

Harvard takes to the field tomorrow for a non-league matchup against Holy Cross.

—Staff writer Jay M. Cohen can be reached at jaycohen@fas.harvard.edu.