Men's Soccer Erupts for Six Scores in Season Finale

On an evening meant to honor the senior Harvard men’s soccer players for their contributions over their careers to the Crimson, senior forwards Jake Freeman, Oliver White, and Tim Schmoll carried the Harvard squad to an offensive rout of Penn, 6-0.

The Crimson (9-6-2, 5-2-0 Ivy) entered Saturday out of contention for the Ivy League title, with Dartmouth holding a two-game lead in the standings at the start of the day. But the team still looked to make a statement in its final home game of the season in one last attempt to make a case for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

This determination showed as Harvard came out firing against an overmatched Penn squad (3-11-2, 1-5-1) at Jordan Field.

“We went out and we were just firing on all cylinders,” Schmoll said. “Everyone just bought in. It was fantastic.”

In the 56th minute, White ran right through two Quaker defenders down the middle of the pitch, stepped into the penalty box, and attempted to juke Penn senior goalkeeper Nick Savino to open up a lane for the score. Instead, White was tripped up, forcing a red card on Savino in his final game for the Quakers and allowing Freeman to finish on the ensuing penalty kick.

The play was indicative of both teams’ performances throughout the match, as Penn was unable to match up to the Crimson’s pace and pressure on the ball.

Back-and-forth play dominated the opening minutes of the contest, as each team searched for weaknesses in its opponent’s defense by pushing long through-balls from the midfield.

Sophomore forward Christian Sady changed that dynamic with two quick goals in the 8th and 11th minutes. A sprinting give-and-go score with White down the left side of the pitch and a shot from outside the 18-yard box into the top left corner of the net off a throw-in opened up the game for Harvard, 2-0.

After early production from the underclassman paved the way for Harvard, the seniors shined for the rest of the match.

In addition to creating and executing an early assist to Sady and drawing the penalty kick, White manufactured two more assists on the day. A tackle on a Quaker defender passing back to the keeper led to a chip that barely clipped Penn’s charging goaltender, and the ball landed directly at Freeman’s feet to set up the first assist. A short cross in the box in the 60th minute to senior forward Michael Innocenzi produced the second to net the Crimson’s sixth and final goal.

Schmoll was the other senior to score, finding the netting after his own give-and-go with just minutes left in the first half. Sophomore defender Justin Crichlow nicely handled a cross that traveled from one sideline to the other along the midfield line to initiate the play.

Not only was the Crimson’s offense stout in producing 28 shots, 18 of them on goal, but the back line defense also played formidably, holding Penn to 6 shots in the match.

“[The defense] has been consistent all year,” said third-year Crimson coach Pieter Lehrer. “[Senior goalkeeper Evan Mendez] in goal has been very consistent.... The whole back line just has been very consistent. They just do a great job, day in and day out.”

The sturdy, swarming play of the backline and midfield defense forced the Quakers to resort to an offense mainly consisting of chipping lobs over the heads of Harvard’s defenders. The tactic did not test Mendez throughout much of the match, as he was able to finish with a clean sheet in the final home contest of his career.

The commanding victory polished off the regular season for the Crimson squad, but it remains to be seen if the result will help the team stamp its ticket to the NCAA tournament.

“There’s been no other Ivy League game all year for anybody that’s won 6-0,” Lehrer said. “So I think it says where we’re at as a team. I think we’re in a good spot to get an at-large bid, but we’ve done everything that we can do and hopefully we get [the bid].”