Harvard Suffers Second Straight Shutout, Falls to Bears

It was a night of frustration for the Crimson men’s soccer team, who fell to Brown (7-4-1, 2-1 Ivy), 1-0, in a defensive battle Saturday evening at Soliders Field Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium. The Bears handed Harvard (2-9-1, 0-3) its fifth consecutive loss, a streak that includes the squad’s first three Ivy League contests.

The game’s lone goal was put away by senior midfielder Evan Coleman and assisted by classmate T.J. Popolizio. In the 31st minute, Popolizio delivered a pass into the top of the box that the Crimson defense couldn’t clear cleanly. Coleman gained possession before poking it into the left side of the net.

“Brown gave us a really tough game, and I thought everyone on our team came to play today,” sophomore defender Kevin Harrington said. “Unfortunately, it just came down to who could finish their chances.”

Brown outshot Harvard, 6-5, in the first half, but neither team was prolific on offense.

The Crimson struggled to find opportunities in the early going. Its best scoring chance of the first period came on a 20th-minute ground cross delivered by sophomore defender Ross Friedman. The pass connected with sophomore forward Connor McCarthy, but his shot from close range was blocked by a defender.

The Bears only managed one other shot on goal in the game, a strike from junior defender Dylan Remick that was easily corralled by junior goalkeeper Bret Conrad.

The home side came out with superior play in the second half but was unable to find an equalizer.

Freshman forward Michael Innocenzi was turned away on a 53rd-minute strike from the top of the box by junior goalkeeper Sam Kernan-Schloss.

A minute later, freshman midfielder Tim Schmoll delivered a dangerous cross deep in the box. Schmoll went down battling for the ball in front of the net, but no was foul was given.

Harvard dominated possession for the rest of the game but couldn’t produce a goal. Repeated crosses and serves into the box failed to generate frequent scoring opportunities.

“I think we competed and controlled a lot of the play,” sophomore defender Ross Friedman said. “We just didn’t create enough offensively.”

The Bears were relatively quiet on offense in the second half, failing to put a shot on goal.

The Crimson turned up the heat in the final minutes, pushing men forward. But its last-ditch efforts came up short, as the Brown defense held strong and brushed away each Harvard attempt. As the final seconds ticked off the game clock, a Brown clearance rolled down the sideline capping off what was a difficult night for Harvard.

The match was characterized by its physicality, as the two teams combined for 27 fouls and a yellow card.

In what turned out to be a defensive struggle, the Crimson’s back line was anchored by strong play from Harrington, Friedman, fellow sophomore defender Pascal Mensah, and co-captain Tim Linden. The Bears only managed seven shots in the contest to Harvard’s nine.

But an inability to score goals continues to plague the Crimson offense. The home side certainly had the better of play in the second half, as it often showed promising build-up play, but Harvard still couldn’t find a way to create chances in front of the net and add the finishing touch to score.

“You need to give Brown credit for keeping us out of their net for 90 minutes,” Harrington said. “But we’ve got to keep working on offense and getting more goals because that’s been a problem for us all year.”

With the win, Brown moves into a tie for second place in the Ivy League standings, trailing only Cornell. At 0-3, the Crimson’s hope for an Ivy League title will continue to slip away without a quick turnaround.

One bright spot on the night was the halftime presentation of an honorific No. 5 jersey to former Harvard standout Will Kohler ’97, an All-American who won the 1996 Ivy League Player of the Year award among other accolades.

The Crimson is off for the week and will play Princeton at home on Saturday night. Harvard plans to use the time to rest and prepare, hoping to reverse its recent offensive woes.

“We know we’re a better team than this,” Friedman said. “We’ve just got to keep battling and hope that the results start to show that.”