Men's Soccer To Face Yale In Ivy League Opener

To say the Pieter Lehrer era has been one of Ancient Eight success for the Harvard men’s soccer team would be an understatement.

In 2013 it was a second-place finish in the Ivy League following back-to-back winless seasons in conference play. Last year, the Crimson was one victory short of sharing the crown with Dartmouth and Princeton, but would end up finishing third overall. Despite the recent success, the Ancient Eight title has managed to elude Harvard in the past few years.

The quest to change that begins this weekend, as the Crimson (1-4-2) travels to rival Yale (1-6) to start conference play this weekend.

Harvard struggled to pick up momentum in nonconference action just a year removed from entering Ancient Eight play on a five-game winning streak. Co-captain Mark Ashby, however, seems confident the nonconference slate will have no bearing on the team’s conference fortunes.

“Two years ago, we had a similar situation where we performed pretty poorly in nonconference play prior to Ivy League [play], and we ended up playing for the Ivy League title in our final game against Penn,” the defender said. “What matters now is having a turning point in the Ivy League season.”

Seven games into the season, the Crimson has struggled on both ends of the pitch. Offensively, Harvard has only found the back of the net a total of five times, and the offense has failed to score in each of its last three games.

Though the midfield—led by junior co-captain Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu—has been able to create some open spaces and get crosses into the penalty box, the Crimson has failed to take advantage of such opportunities consistently.

Defensively, Harvard has experienced mixed results as the team has shown flashes of potential while dealing with Ashby’s season long absence due to injury.

After conceding at least one goal in its first five games, the Crimson defense looked to be improving by picking up its first clean sheet at then No. 10 Washington. But the group allowed three goals to Boston University in its next game out. Transition defense has especially been an area of concern for Harvard, with the team failing to contain opponents on the counterattack.

“We have to make sure we’re organized whenever we’re going forward, defensively…[and] be prepared for when we might get countered,” Wheeler-Omiunu said. “We have that full commitment from all the guys. When we get tired in the 70th or 80th minute it’s tough to do that, but it’s that mental fortitude you need to have.”

Yale could be just the team that Harvard needs to remedy these issues. The Elis—who haven’t finished a season in the top-three of the conference since 2008—come in with the worst-ranked defense in the league, conceding an average of 2.24 goals a game.

This could prove appealing for a Crimson offense in need of a spark, as the Yale defense has conceded at least two goals in every game so far.

The Elis have struggled to score as well, managing only six goals—three of them coming against a winless Quinnipiac squad. Yale has also managed to put up just over an Ivy League worst eight shots per game—potentially a confidence booster for the Harvard defense before conference play.

While the Elis aren’t exactly up to par with some of the Crimson’s earlier opponents, Ashby maintains Harvard isn’t taking this game for granted.

“We’re not treating any team as if they’re not going to play well or we’re well over them,” Ashby said. “We’re working just as hard to get wins as they are, so we fully respect them.”

With just seven games deciding the Ancient Eight crown, starting on the right foot is crucial for the Crimson. A win could get the ball rolling for Harvard while a loss or tie will make the battle for the Ivy crown an uphill one.

Though the road to the top will be a long one, the team plans on staying with its philosophy of one game at a time. While the Ivy League crown has no doubt crossed members of the team’s minds at some point, Wheeler-Omiunu insists the team is focused solely on its conference debut.

“We try not to think past the next game,” Wheeler-Ominnun said. “We’re really only focused on Yale and preparing for Yale.”

—Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at julio.fierro@thecrimson.com