Rogers’ Winning Goal Sets Tone for Season

It seems that all the goal-scoring responsibilities have fallen onto sophomore Brian Rogers after Andre Akpan, the Crimson’s top scorer, graduated last year.

“Brian’s biggest contributions to this team right now are on the field and in front of the goal,” Harvard coach Carl Junot said. “We’re going to continue to ask that of him over the course of the year.”

So far, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year has delivered.

In gripping fashion, Rogers found the back of the net with only ten minutes left in the second half of Saturday night’s game against No. 13 Stanford. His goal was invaluable, sealing the fate of the Cardinal to a 2-1 loss.

“It was a great goal, a great individual effort,” Crimson co-captain Robert Millock said. “It started off of a counterattack so I think it was a great finish. He’s been looking for it all fall so it’s good that he finally got one.”

Rogers couldn’t contain his excitement and ran to the corner of the stadium, where he kicked the flag out of the ground and celebrated the goal with fans surrounding the fence.

He was shortly mobbed by his teammates as he slowly made his way back to the center of the field for kickoff.

Throughout the game, the sophomore showed composure in front of a crowd of 3,221 fans, even though it was clear from the start that emotions were flying high as a result of all the publicity and hype going into the game.

“The atmosphere here was great [Saturday],” Rogers said. “I have to thank the administration for putting this together and for this great stadium for us to play in. It’s everything any D-1 athlete could ever ask for, no matter where you go.”

It was no surprise then, that in front of a more modest crowd, Rogers would strike again.

Against UMass on Monday, Rogers scored the go-ahead goal right after halftime on a cross from Millock.

Tenth-ranked Harvard went on to win the match 3-2, but it was Rogers’ goal that set the tone early in the second half. The Crimson used that confidence to score another goal that would put the Minutemen well behind.

Throughout high school, Rogers was always known for his prolific ability to score goals.

In 2008, he was sixth in the nation with 44 tallies while leading his team to the state championship. He was also named the Gatorade New York State Player of the Year in 2009 for his efforts.

Rogers’ goals this year have been indispensable to the team’s current 2-0 record. In both games, Rogers broke a 1-1 deadlock to highly influence the final outcome.

Junot feels that Rogers can only get better, not only by sneaking the ball past the goalie but also by putting the game away.

“I think, specifically with our forwards and Brian, we ask a lot more on the defensive end, maybe more than other teams do,” Junot said. “So I feel Brian’s goal scoring ability will continue to improve throughout the season with repetition and what we’re going to try and teach him is to become a better defender as well.”

Against Stanford, Junot moved Rogers from smothering the Cardinal backline to playing on the right wing, using his athleticism to help the Harvard defense fend off Stanford’s final attempts on the goal.

But it is Rogers’ never-ceasing efforts to get behind the backline that have made him so successful and has even frustrated some of his teammates.

“We joke about [Rogers] in practice,” Millock said. “We get angry because he always grabs and pulls but it was nice to see him do it to someone else and have it work.”

Whatever the strategy may be, Rogers will strive to surpass last year’s tally of six goals for second on the team in goals scored. He already has two, and with 15 more games before a probable NCAA berth, Rogers’ chances are looking pretty good.

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.