Men's Soccer Now in First in Ivy League

At this point last season, the Harvard (5-7-2, 4-1-0 Ivy) men’s soccer team was sitting dead last in the Ivy League without a single conference win.

This year, after its 2-1 victory Saturday against Dartmouth (5-6-4, 0-5-0 Ivy), the Crimson is in first place in the Ivy League with sole control of its championship destiny.

“[The players] continue to fight, they continue to prepare really well, they show up the same way they did in the early part of the season,” Harvard coach Pieter Lehrer said. “They work, they work, they work.”

“What we’ve done is take everything one step of the time,” junior defender Philip Fleischman said. “Everyone has been really good about…working on a few things that make us better and [then moving] on to the next tasks and to focus on those. It’s really just reducing things to small steps.”

The team has been on a hot streak, winning four of its last six contests. The offense has scored two or more goals in each of its last five games, which is a marked improvement from the beginning of the season, when the team scored only three goals in its first five games.

“It’s all just a team effort,” Fleischman said. “We defend from the front and we attack from the back. It might be one person who’s scoring them, but it’s a team effort to get the ball up the field, and to defend to get the ball in the first place.”

For this match, however, skill, hard work ,and teamwork were not the only factors necessary to keep the streak alive. The Crimson also benefitted from a non-call, confusion, and a heads-up play by senior forward Pascal Mensah.

In the 41st minute, a non-call by the referee on a sliding tackle near midfielder allowed Big Green goalie James Hickock to gain control of the ball. Instead of kicking the ball out, Hickock instead let the ball sit as vehement arguing from the two sides essentially stopped play.

Mensah was the only player on the field who seemed to realize that the ball was still live, and he was able to maneuver the ball away from a diving Hickock and walk the ball into the net. This goal, which put Harvard up 2-0, proved to be the game-winner in the victory.

“It all comes from our mentality of fighting every single day and fighting every single play,” said Fleischman. “We all embody it, and Pascal embodied it in that play, and it’s something we pride ourselves on.”

Harvard’s first goal came in the 12th minute, as sophomore midfielder Andrew Chang was able to control a rebound at the top of the box and send a strike just over Hickock’s outstretched arm, narrowly missing the top of the goal post.

“We pride ourselves on taking advantage of every opportunity that we can”, Fleischman said. “It was a great strike by Chang, and it was great to get an early goal and set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Although the Big Green was unable to score in the first half, the team was able to generate numerous opportunities. In the 23rd minute, sophomore goalie Evan Mendez came out of the box to head an incoming ball to one of his defenders.

A Dartmouth player was able to intercept the ball and take a shot on goal that just missed high as Mendez scurried back to the goal.

Harvard continued weathering several Dartmouth attacks as it attempted to hold onto its lead in the second half. The Crimson’s defensive mindset reduced the number of attacking opportunities the Big Green had, which factored into its scoreless second half.

Dartmouth finally broke through in the 82nd minute, when junior midfielder Gabe Stauer was able to head in a goal off of a free kick.

Throughout its four-game Ivy League winning streak, the team has been led by seniors Kevin Harrington and Ross Friedman, according to Lehrer. Friedman, who leads the Ivy League with eight assists, added another on Saturday and had three shots on goal.

“Both of those guys have been unbelievable,” Lehrer said. “On the field, in the locker room, in meetings, those guys just lead from the first moment to the last moment. It sets a great standing for the rest of the group, and it pulls the group higher to a different level.”