Men's Soccer Set to Reload

They are back.. The Harvard men’s soccer team is ready to open up its season with home games against Villanova (0-1) on Friday and Hofstra (1-1) on Sunday.

Last year’s Crimson season was an inconsistent one. The team finished with a 9-6-2 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Ivy play. While the team’s record was good enough for second place in the Ivy League, it was not enough to earn a NCAA Tournament bid. Despite four shutouts in its conference slate and eight players named to All-Ivy teams, including a 6-0 win against Penn to end the season, Harvard could not overcome its shaky start..

“I think this year we’re going to be a little bit more creative in the offense,” co-captain Mark Ashby said. “We have some really special midfielders. Those guys are very creative on the ball and they combine really well. I see us scoring more goals, through those combinations, through the run of play, rather than a more direct style that we played last year.”

After losing six seniors, the team is relatively young with about half of its players being freshmen and sophomores. Still, the Crimson does return the leadership of six seniors. This group includes Ashby, a defender who returns for his senior season after missing last season due to injury, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, who was named to the 2016 All-Ivy first team and NSCAA All-East region third team, and five returning All-Ivy players.

“One of the great things about our team is that from top to bottom we are a very cohesive unit,” Wheeler-Omiunu said. “We do a very good job of making all the classes feel comfortable. When you create a culture where it is expected of you to speak up and voice your opinion, it makes it easier for freshmen to come in and join that culture.”

Ashby and Wheeler-Omiunu, who also captained the 2015 team, will hope to set the tone for the season in this weekend’s two contests. In past years, Harvard has struggled in the opening games of the season. Last year, it had only one win in its first seven matches. Having the first two games of the season at home might provide the boost the team needs to start out strong.

“It’s crucial, obviously,” Ashby said. “We’ve actually struggled quite a bit in opening games and early on in the season in past years. It’s really, really important that we get off to a good start so we find these games are gonna be ones that we will regret not winning.”

This weekend will feature matches against teams that Harvard has only played once in program history.

On Friday at Ohiri Field, the team will face off against Villanova for the second time ever. The Crimson won the teams’ 2006 meeting, 3-1. The Wildcats will be looking to both avenge this loss and avoid starting off the season on the wrong foot after falling in overtime to Rider, 2-1, in its season opener.

The Crimson will have little time to prepare for its matchup with Hofstra. The Pride started off its season with a split in its first two contests, defeating Stony Brook and falling to No. 22 UNC Charlotte last week. After taking on Boston College on Friday night, Hofstra will meet Harvard in Cambridge for the first contest between the two since the Crimson shut out Hofstra, 5-0, in 1992. 24 years later, the Pride now boasts a Colonial Athletic Association co-rookie of the Week and College Soccer News National Team of the Week member among its ranks, and will be looking for its stars to step up against the Crimson.

This weekend will be the collegiate debuts of eight Harvard freshmen, adding further depth to its team. The Crimson will be relying on the octet to pick up from where last year’s seniors left off, and to make an impact to help the team achieve its goals.

—Staff writer Katherine H. Scott can be reached at katherinescott@college.harvard.edu.