Men's Soccer Hosts Stony Brook in Opener

-Pictured: Co-captain Brian Grimm. Photo by DSPics.com.

Live Statistics
Akpan Named to Hermann Trophy Watch List
Free Goaltender Clinic (Grades 9-12) From 9-10

The Game:
Harvard, which is receiving votes in the Soccer Times preseason national poll, opens the 2009 campaign by hosting Stony Brook Friday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

The Crimson begins its second season under Jamie Clark, the Virginia B. and James O. Welch ’52 Head Coach for Harvard Men’s Soccer. Last fall, Clark guided the team to the second round of the NCAA tournament, as the Crimson defeated Massachusetts, 1-0, in the opening round on a double-overtime goal by Andre Akpan.

Harvard posted a 12-6 mark last season, while Stony Brook was 3-12-4 in 2008. The
Crimson owned a 5-2 record in the Ivy League, while the Seawolves went 1-4-3 in America East play.

The Matchup:
Friday’s game between the Crimson and Seawolves will mark the first time the schools have met in men’s soccer.

Follow From Home:
Once again, live statistics will be available for all Harvard home games and most road contests this season.

New Captains:
Forward Andre Akpan and fellow senior and midfielder Brian Grimm were elected captains by their teammates for the 2009 season.

About Harvard:
The Crimson, which posted a perfect 6-0 record at home last season, looks to win its season opener for the second time in three years. In 2007, Harvard defeated Rhode Island, 3-2, at home, but lost to Duke, 3-1, last fall.

Harvard returns four of its top six scorers from a year ago, including Andre Akpan, who paced the team and the Ivy League with 26 points on 10 goals and six assists. Kwaku
Nyamekye returns for his senior season after scoring three goals, Baba Omosegbon netted three tallies as a freshman and Adam Rousmaniere had two goals and handed out two assists as a junior in 2008.

Between the pipes, Austin Harms, who ranked 11th in the nation with a 0.55 goals-against average and owned a .844 save percentage as a freshman, posted a 9-3 record with an impressive six shutouts in 2008. Three of those shutouts came against Ivy League opponents (Yale, Cornell and Princeton).

Harvard scored twice as many goals as opponents last fall, finding the back of the net 36 times and allowing only 18 scores.

About Stony Brook:
The Seawolves fell in their opener, 1-0, to Hofstra, despite outshooting the Pride, 11-1, in the second half. For the game, Stony Brook owned a 17-8 advantage in shots and held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks. Goalkeeper Anthony Rogic made four saves in net. Anthony Crespi, Raphael Abreu and Mehdi Belakehal each attempted three shots for the Seawolves. After facing the Crimson, Stony Brook will travel to Smithfield, R.I., to play Bryant Sunday afternoon.

Reaching the Century Mark:
Andre Akpan, Harvard’s all-time leading scorer, has 97 career points to his credit on 35 goals and 27 assists. Akpan is 12 tallies away from tying Chris Ohiri ’64 for Harvard’s all-time goal lead.

Quest For Four Straight:
Harvard has reached the NCAA tournament three straight seasons, advancing to the second round twice.

Up Next:
The Crimson continues the non-conference portion of its schedule Monday, as the team visits Boston College at 5 p.m. Harvard will then return to Ohiri Field for back-to-back home games against Boston University Sept. 11 and Army Sept. 13.