Men's Soccer Holds on, Draws with Connecticut

In soccer, it doesn’t matter how many shots a team takes; in the end, it’s only the ones that go in that count.

The No. 6 Harvard men’s soccer team was thankful that was the case Saturday night, when it managed to play No. 10 Connecticut to a 1-1 draw in Storrs, Conn., despite being outshot by a 25-6 margin.

Eight different players took at least two shots for the Huskies (3-0-1), led by forward Mamadou Diouf, who took a game-high seven.

Luckily for the Crimson (2-0-1), only four of those 26 shots managed to be on goal, three of which were saved by junior keeper Austin Harms.

“UConn was a really good team,” senior Alex Chi said. “But I felt like we had just as many good opportunities as them...they outshot us but most were from long-range; their attempts weren’t really dangerous. Defensively and pressure-wise we played a really solid game.”

Harvard got on the board first when sophomore forward Zack Wolfenzon scored 18 minutes into the first half. Junior Midfielder Jamie Rees took a pass at the top of the 18-yard box from classmate Tim Linden, Rees found Wolfenzon cutting through the box, and Wolfenzon was able to deliver for his first goal of the season.

Later, after eight consecutive unsuccessful Huskie shot attempts, Crimson senior defenseman Robert Millock was called for a handball in the box. With just one minute remaining in the first half, Connecticut forward Stephane Diop drilled the ensuing penalty kick past a diving Harms to tie up the game.

The Huskies outshot Harvard 11-2 in the first half, and had three corner kicks to the Crimson’s zero.

The Harvard defense continued to withstand a swarm of UConn shots in the second half. In the 63rd minute, the Crimson blocked a right-wing attempt by Huskie midfielder Tony Cascio, and a shot by high-scoring Connecticut freshman Mamadou Diouf beat Harms but hit the right post and ricocheted back into play.

“I thought [the defense] played well,” Millock said. “[Rookie Obiajulu] Agha came in and played very well in the second half and the overtime. [Junior] Baba [Omosegbon] was great all game. A lot of the credit goes to the midfielders and forwards for coming back and doubling down and making it hard for them to play the midfield.”

After a Huskie yellow card in the 69th minute, Harvard had a good chance to take the lead, but UConn goalie Josh Ford made a leaping catch on freshman midfielder Kyle Henderson’s free kick to keep the game tied.

In the 80th minute, the Crimson had yet another opportunity to score, but Ford made a save on sophomore Richard Smith’s post-corner kick header attempt. Three minutes later, the Harvard defense blocked consecutive Connecticut shots from the top of the box, and the game remained tied at the end of regulation.

In the first overtime period, Crimson sophomore forward Brian Rogers nearly won his team the game, but his attempt from the top of the box hit the crossbar.

“We had few opportunities [offensively], but we had really good chances when we did have them,” Chi said.

Harvard was unable to muster a shot attempt the rest of the game. Diouf nearly ended it in the 102nd minute with a shot from the close right wing, but Harms was able to dive and deflect the ball over the net with his fingertips. The Huskies were only able to manage one shot the rest of the way, and the match ended in a draw.

In addition to the large shot differential, Connecticut managed nine corner kicks, compared to just one for Harvard.

“I don’t think anyone’s really worried about [the shot differential],” Millock said. “Obviously we’d like to create more opportunities, but whenever they got behind us we never really felt the shots they were taking were quality shots, with the exception of their set pieces and corner kicks.”

Harms finished with three saves in four attempts, many with a rowdy Huskie student section at his back–a significantly better performance than the one he put forward in Storrs last season, when he allowed four UConn goals in a defeat.

“Their student section is great,” Millock said. “Last year they kind of got underneath our skin and rattled us a bit. This year we knew it was coming, we were ready for them, and we tried to use it as motivation.”

“This was the one game where everyone was looking forward to having a rematch against them after the events of last year,” Chi added. “We got the job done, we got a result, so overall we’re satisfied as a team.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.