Harvard Men's Soccer Fends Off Aggressive Bulldogs to a 1-1 Draw

In the 112th meeting between historic collegiate rivals, the scoreline could not separate the two ambitious sides, as Harvard and Yale battled to a riveting 1-1 draw, drawing an excited crowd of nearly 1000 under Jordan Field’s lights late Saturday night.

The meeting’s result leaves the Crimson (3-4-4, 0-2-1 Ivy League) continuing to search for its first conference victory of the season.

“Harvard-Yale means everything to our guys,” said men’s soccer head coach Josh Shapiro. “It's such an important rivalry. There's so much tradition and history, and the game is just so challenging because both teams are so committed.”

The Yale Bulldogs (2-6-3, 1-1-1 Ivy) have failed to return home from Cambridge victorious once again, a streak dating all the way back to October 2nd, 2004.

“There's honestly a lot of hatred that comes with the rivalry,” said senior goalkeeper Lucian Wood. “I think we tend to feed off that as a team, and the energy is always really high. It's always a really intense performance, it's always different playing Yale.”

Over the first 45 minutes, Yale maintained control of the game, piling up the pressure with back-to-back pinpoint corner kick deliveries and recording two close attempts, while the Crimson struggled to get shots on target. Defensive efforts from Harvard’s solid back line helped resist the Bulldogs and ultimately bring the first half to a deadlocked end.

“I always try to trust my center backs,” said Wood, commenting on the role his defenders played in recent matches. “They've kept a level of intensity throughout the season that we've lacked in previous seasons. They're younger guys, so they're starting to lead now, and it's making a big difference for the rest of the team.”

Harvard kicked off the second half with regained momentum and possession; however, in the 65th minute, Yale senior forward Sebi Roy broke through on goal with only the keeper to beat, but Woods charged forward, making a critical save to keep the match scoreless.

“Honestly, I think when you get to a situation like that, it's just reactions and instincts. You set yourself up well and try to prepare yourself as best you can for a shot and put yourself in the right position.” said Wood.

Despite Harvard’s strong second-half showing, the visitors were able to break the deadlock first, with Yale first-year midfielder Angelo Zhu beating the defense and capitalizing on a chip shot in the 74th minute.

“I thought we were a little overextended when they got the goal in transition. They did really well in that moment, and that was brutal, because we were in real control of the match at that point,” said Coach Shapiro.

The Crimson wasted no time, however, as only five minutes later, senior center back Ethan Veghte smashed a volley into the top left corner of the net to put the game back level, assisted by a long-range cross from sophomore left back Alexander Castel.

The crowd erupted following the top bin equalizer, with a crimson-colored smoke bomb lighting off and chants raining down in support of the home side.

Veghte’s 79th-minute goal helped end Harvard’s October goal drought, as the team had failed to convert in over 267 minutes of competitive play – its previous goal dating back to its September 30th match versus Boston University.

In the dying embers of the match, Harvard continued to mount pressure to seek the match winner. With seconds remaining, junior forward Andreas Savva produced a right-footed attempt at goal, which was collected by the Yale shot stopper.

“I'm glad that we got a point from it, and all eyes on the next few Ivy games,” said Veghte.

The Crimson continues its regular-season Ivy League campaign next Saturday, when it hosts the Brown Bears (5-3-2, 1-1-1 Ivy) at Jordan Field.