Freshman Makes Immediate Impact for Men's Soccer

When freshman forward Ashi Geberkidane arrived on campus in August, he wasn’t planning on playing soccer.

As a high school senior, Geberkidane began running cross country. His prowess for the sport was immediately recognized and rewarded. He was named to the All-Colorado running team and, as the Colorado 5A state cross country champion, Geberkidane was recruited to run for Harvard.

But Geberkidane, a member of the ESPN high school boys’ soccer Colorado All-Star team as a junior, wasn’t quite ready to give up his favorite sport.

“I just had to follow my heart,” Geberkidane said. “I have a passion for the game. I spoke to both [the cross country and soccer] coaches and decided to play soccer this fall. I love the team. We’re a family and we all know it. The best part of my day is going into the locker room and hanging out with those guys.”

After Pieter Lehrer was hired as the men’s soccer coach last April, Geberkidane contacted him, hoping he could play for Harvard. He joined the Crimson and quickly learned that he could contribute on the pitch.

Lehrer said that he recognizes Geberkidane’s contributions to the team thus far and appreciates the confidence the freshman demonstrates on and off the field.

“He’s got a very strong will in his mind and he brings that to the team as a freshman,” Lehrer said. “When he plays, he demands quality out of himself and everyone around him, and you can see why he’s so successful. He’s very good at fighting and really competing down to the last moment.”

With several injured players, Geberkidane and the five other freshmen were quickly called upon this season to help lead a team that went 3-11-3 overall last year. The freshman has started in the first four games of the season, scoring one of the team’s two goals.

“We have tremendous faith in our freshmen,” sophomore midfielder Michael Klain said. “We’ve looked to help them as much as we can by giving them a clear picture of what we need them to do. We don’t feel like because someone’s a freshman or a senior, one has to contribute more than the other; it’s just who’s going to succeed in playing their role on the field, and who’s going to help us move forward as a group.”

Senior midfielder Kevin Harrington said that he also recognizes the level of competition the freshmen create on the practice and game fields, hoping to earn some playing time and pushing the team’s starters to be better in the process.

“The freshmen have really been asked to step up and get the job done with no experience,” Harrington said. “They’ve been huge. It’s pretty impressive what they’ve done, taking on the roles of guys who are sidelined with injuries. We’ve got three [freshmen] on the field at any given time, and that’s way more than most Division I teams out there. They’ve been a huge influence on our team.”

Lehrer attributes this level of success to the support of the upperclassmen on and off the field as well, helping the freshmen feel like true members of the team off the bat.

“Typically the freshmen don’t contribute that quickly, but I think it’s a testament to the upperclassmen and their commitment to making sure that the freshmen are comfortable,” Lehrer said. “They want them to have a good understanding of what’s expected as a student-athlete here at Harvard…. They welcomed them on campus, and therefore the players felt very confident in their abilities to play and were ready from the get go.”

Despite a slow start to the season with a current 0-3-1 record, the team is confident in its ability to compete in conference play, noting the Crimson’s improvement since the season’s start.

“Coach is looking for continuous improvement,” Harrington said. “[He wants] us to hit our peak going into the Ivy League season. He’s satisfied with the level of improvement we’ve had each game and each week leading up to those games. We just need to continue that trend forward, and by the time Ivy League comes hopefully we’ll have everything down as perfectly and we’ll be able to face those teams with our best foot forward.”

Lehrer hopes his players can build on their progress from game to game, bringing in new techniques and improving upon their system every day.

“We think we can compete in every game,” Lehrer said. “We really in our hearts believe that and believe we have the ability to do that. I feel like that’s one of the strengths of the team is there is constant improvement. We look to improve every moment we can and there’s a lot of detail that comes into that because the players are wanting to do that.”

Noting the success of the freshmen as contributors for the Crimson thus far, Harrington said that he advises them to build on this year for the future.

“Beyond this season, the freshmen have to take in what the seniors, juniors and sophomores are doing now and their process of trying to win games,” Harrington said. “It takes some serious thought and dedication to have that kind of long-term mentality, but your four years here go quicker than you might imagine. The more they’re thinking about the longer term and how they want to lead in the coming years, the better they’ll be going forward.”

Geberkidane’s teammates said they are expecting a lot from the freshman in a very short period of time, as the team begins conference play Oct. 5.

“Ashi will be asked to now step up his role offensively as far as goal production,” Harrington said. “Many of the freshmen have already played quality minutes for us, which isn’t really something you expect; the ability to be mature and acclimate themselves to play Division I coming straight out of high school isn’t normal. For someone to make that jump so quickly and readily is impressive. With his cross country background, he’s made a great transition, just being a guy who can work for as long as we need him to go up there and help our team defensively as a forward, which is not something many forwards are willing to do or able to do.”

Geberkidane appreciates the ability he has been given to fulfill his dream, while preparing for the competition and intensity that conference games will bring.

“I remember growing up as a kid and just thinking Harvard was out of my league,” Geberkidane said. “But now I’m here and living it. Representing Harvard at a higher level is so cool. To put that jersey on every day, to put that practice stuff on reminds me how hard I worked to get here. I love wearing that ‘H’ going on the field more than anything in the world and I’ve got to do my part for our team by capitalizing on scoring opportunities.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: Sept. 27, 2013

An earlier version of this article was accompanied by a photo featuring sophomore Oliver White. It has been replaced by a photo of freshman forward Ashi Geberkidane.