Men's Soccer's Ancient Eight Fate at Stake Against Dartmouth

With just three games remaining in the schedule, the Harvard men’s soccer team faces arguably its most difficult, and most important, test of the season in a match that could either open or slam shut the door to the Ivy League title.

The Crimson (7-5-2, 3-1-0 Ivy) welcome defending conference champion and No. 24 Dartmouth (8-4-1, 4-0-0) to Jordan Field this Saturday as the team looks to get back on track against the current Ancient Eight leader.

Harvard goes into this match in a similar pattern as last year, as the Crimson suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Princeton for its first Ivy loss of the season for the second consecutive year. Last year, Harvard followed up its loss by drawing 1-1 in Hanover, essentially losing control of its Ancient Eight fate. This year, the Crimson need a victory against a Dartmouth squad that already has a one‑game advantage over second-place Harvard.

“It’s a must win game,” captain Mark Ashby said. “It’s going to be a great game and we’re really excited. We have to win especially because we lost that game to Princeton…every game has to be a win now in the Ivy League.”

Though a victory would place the Crimson back in control of its Ivy fate, the task is easier said than done. The Big Green comes with an eight-game unbeaten streak in conference play and has won six of its last seven games, conceding a mere four goals in that timeframe and only one against Ivy opponents so far.

The Harvard offense–which has averaged a league high two goals per game in Ancient Eight play–will have to be on point to get past senior keeper Stefan Cleveland and the Dartmouth defense.

Cleveland has been the best keeper in the Ivies, posting a .929 save percentage and a mere 0.25 goals per game in conference games, while the defense has allowed only 3.25 shots on goal thus far.

Getting clean shots will be a priority for a Crimson offense that has struggled with efficiency. Though Harvard has managed to get off 52 shots in conference play so far, only 15 of them have been on target.

“It’s a commitment to shooting the ball on goal,” junior co-captain Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu said. “It’s a conscious decision to say ‘I’m not going to try to aim for the top corner of the net every shot’ because it’s a smaller margin of error if you miss instead of aiming for a bigger target just to the left or right of the goalkeeper.”

While the Dartmouth defense has been an almost impermeable wall, the offense has struggled at times, an aspect that will be to the Crimson’s success.

The Big Green has taken 53 shots in Ivy play so far‑26 of which have been on target–but has only been able to find the back of the net five times, with five different players each obtaining a goal.

Communication will be key for the Harvard defense to stifle the Dartmouth attack, as miscommunications between senior netminder Evan Mendez and the Crimson backline allowed a then-stagnant Princeton attack to slot three goals past Mendez.

Ashby emphasized the importance of communication, particularly by junior center-backs Daniel Smith and Alex Leondis, as a pivotal factor in holding strong versus the Big Green.

“It’s never going to hurt to over-communicate,” Ashby said. “Making sure that [Smith and Leondis] are explaining where everyone should be [and] keeping our back four even.”

Though there are details that need to be ironed out, the team doesn’t believe any drastic changes are necessary to come out with the victory.

With the Crimson’s confidence increasing after every game, Wheeler-Omiunu and Ashby both believe the team looks strong despite the loss against Princeton.

“[The approach] doesn’t change,” Wheeler-Omiunu said. “It’s just another game, it’s the game that’s in front of us next and that’s how we look at every game. We don’t look past it.”

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