NOTEBOOK: Crosstown Rivalry Ends in Stalemate

One game after recording its first win of the season, the Harvard men’s soccer team (1-4-2) extended its unbeaten run to two games with a 0-0 double-overtime tie against the Boston Terriers (3-3-1). Despite multiple chances at the end of regulation and during overtime—the Crimson took six of its 15 shots in the game’s final 30 minutes—the team was not able to capitalize.

“BU is always a good side,” senior Kevin Harrington said. “We play them every year, and I have a lot of respect for their team and their coach. They always give us a good game, and they are always a good rival.”

After struggling in the first half—Harvard was outshot overall, 8-6, and BU had a 5-1 edge in both corner kicks and shots on goal—the Crimson came out in the second half and took control of the game, according to Harrington. The team outshot the Terriers in the second half, 5-3, and routinely generated chances in front of the net, like in the 52nd minute, when a header by junior Phillip Fleischman found the back corner of the net but was waved off by an offsides call.

“We had much better chances in the second half than they did,” Harrington said. “That was a result of guys coming out and putting in more effort and really going after it in the second half and overtime. It was a shame that we didn’t get the win, but we are very happy with the way we played up until the finish.”

A CHIPPY AFFAIR

The intra-city rivalry picked up in intensity during the second half, where chippy play led to physical play from both sides. The teams were called for a combined 20 fouls in the second half, and the Terriers picked up four yellow cards in the final 47 minutes of play, including two in the overtime periods alone.

Harrington said that as the game’s physicality increases, the job of the team is to focus even harder on what it can control—its own play—and not its opponents and referees, which it cannot.

“The number one thing is to stay focused on the game plan and not get caught up in the antics and the chippiness,” Harrington said. “Your job is to focus on the role that you have to play, and if we do that, we are going to get chances.”

A GAME OF CHANCES

In the end of both regulation and overtime, Harvard was unable to convert on a number of key chances. In the 79th minute, senior Ross Friedman launched a cross from the right side of the field that found streaking sophomore Andrew Chang in the box. Chang’s header missed the goal right, but the second-year forward got a chance to redeem himself shortly thereafter.

In the 87th minute, a Friedman cross hit sophomore forward Andrew Chang on the foot in the box. Chang corralled the ball and on his second touch, launched a shot towards the goal that was blocked wide by the Terrier goalkeeper.

In overtime, the Crimson was twice able to isolate players at the top of the box, but both shots were blocked wide by Terrier defenders. Two headers that went wide of the net constituted the other shots for Harvard. The team managed one shot on goal during the overtime period, equalling their total for the rest of the match.

Coach Pieter Lehrer said that despite the lack of goals, he was encouraged by the team’s ability to create a number of promising chances in front of the net, though only two of the Crimson’s 15 shots were on goal. According to Lehrer, it is only a matter of time until the team routinely turns the chances it creates into goals, as it did in its most recent two-game stretch, where it netted four goals—its highest two-game scoring output of the season.

“I think we are about to turn the corner and have multiple [good] games soon,” Lehrer said. “We are trying to get a little more composure in [the offensive] area of the field, [but] they are working hard in the practice field and in the locker room every day, and it is a good step forward.”

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at david.freed@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @CrimsonDPFreed.