October 23, 2010

Men's Soccer Travels to No. 23 Princeton Sunday for Ivy Showdown on ESPNU

Sophomore Brian Rogers and the Crimson are 1-0-2 in the Ivy League this fall (Gil Talbot).

Complete Game Notes
Live Statistics
Ivy League Standings

The Game:
Harvard looks to remain in the hunt for the Ivy League title, as the Crimson visits No. 23 Princeton in an Ancient Eight showdown on ESPNU. The Crimson owns a 1-0-2 mark in Ivy games, good for third place in the league, while the Tigers sit tied for first with a 3-0-0 record in conference contests. 

The Coverage:
In addition to the game being shown live nationally on ESPNU, live game statistics will be available at www.GoCrimson.com.

Around The Ivy League:
With four conference games remaining in the season, Harvard is in third place in the Ancient Eight with five points, while Princeton and Penn entered the weekend tied for first with nine points apiece.  

The Matchup:
Harvard heads into Sunday's matchup 2-1-4 in road games this season, including 0-0-1 in Ivy League road contests.  The Tigers boast a 5-1-1 overall record at home and have defeated Dartmouth and Brown by 3-0 scores at Roberts Stadium already this fall.

Series History:
Harvard and Princeton have met 84 times since the series began in 1909.  The Crimson holds the edge in the series, 39-37-8, and is 5-1-1 in the last seven games between the Ivy League rivals.  

Last season, Austin Harms made seven saves, while Andre Akpan '10 scored a goal, but the Crimson fell, 2-1, on Oct. 24, 2009.

Score Early:
Harvard owns a 2-0-0 record when holding a lead at halftime, but is 0-2-0 when trailing at the break.  The Crimson also boasts a 3-1-2 mark when scoring first this fall.

About Harvard:
With three goals and an assist, Brian Rogers paces the Crimson in scoring with seven points. Scott Prozeller (2-1-5) and Connor McCarthy (2-1-5) rank second in goals and are tied with Kyle Henderson (1-3-5) for second in points.  

With his six-save performance in a 0-0 tie at No. 15 Brown Oct. 16, goalkeeper Austin Harms now stands second in program history with 16 shutouts, placing him only three behind Ryan Johnson '06 for first (19).  He also sits sixth in school history with 122 saves.  Harms owns a 3-3-4 record this season with 30 saves and a 1.01 goals-against average.  

Brett Conrad made a career-high seven saves in Harvard's 2-1 loss to No. 20 Boston College Tuesday.  He boasts a 0.93 goals-against average and 13 saves, to go along with a 1-1-1 record and one shutout.

Harvard has netted 13 goals, while surrendering 14 tallies by the opposition this fall. Opponents hold the advantage in corner kicks, 56-38 and in shots, 175-146.

About Princeton:
The 23rd-ranked Tigers have rattled off seven consecutive wins since falling at Villanova, 2-0, Sept. 19.  Since then, Princeton has outscored opponents, 21-5, in those seven games, netting three goals in each contest.

Princeton is led offensively by Antoine Hoppenot (7-3-17) and Josh Walburn (5-5-15).  Walburn paces the team with four game-winning tallies to his credit, while Lester Nare (3-2-8), Manny Sardinha (3-1-7), Brandon Busch (2-1-5) and Benjamin Burton (2-1-5) have also notched multiple goals.

In net, Sean Lynch has started all 12 of Princeton's games and is 8-3-1 with four shutouts. He also owns a 1.08 goals-against average, a .806 save percentage and 54 saves.

The Tigers are outscoring teams, 26-13, overall, including 8-3 in the first half and 17-10 in the second half.  Princeton owns a slight edge in corner kicks, 62-61, and in shots, 170-169.

Last Time Out:
Connor McCarthy netted his second goal of the season, while Brett Conrad recorded seven saves, but the Crimson could not hold a 1-0 lead and fell to No. 20 Boston College, 2-1, at Ohiri Field Tuesday.

Defending A Sweep:
For the first time since 1996, both Harvard soccer teams won the Ivy League title last season.  
When The Game Is On the Line:
Four different players have tallied game-winning goals for Harvard this fall: Brian Rogers, Scott Prozeller, Connor McCarthy and Ross Friedman.

State Of Massachusetts:
Harvard owns a 4-2-1 record in games played in Massachusetts this fall. The Crimson has defeated Stanford and Yale at home, while topping Massachusetts and Holy Cross in road contests.

Among the Ivy League's Best:
Brian Rogers ranks fifth in the Ivy League with 32 shots and is tied for seventh with three goals.  Kyle Henderson stands tied for sixth with three assists. Austin Harms owns a 1.01 goals-against average to rank fourth in the league, and he is also fourth with three shutouts and fifth with a .750 save percentage. 

Defense Wins Games:
Harvard is 3-0-5 when allowing one goal or less this season, but only 1-4-0 when surrendering two or more scores by opponents.  The Crimson also owns a 2-0-0 record when scoring two or more goals, compared to 2-4-5 when netting one goal or less.

Road Warriors:
The Crimson has faced seven opponents on the road and owns a 2-1-4 record in those games. Harvard has defeated Massachusetts, 3-2, and Holy Cross, 1-0, while tying Connecticut, 1-1, New Mexico, 0-0, Stony Brook, 1-1, and Brown, 0-0.

Vs. Ranked Opponents:
Harvard has played four ranked opponents this season, going 1-1-2. The Crimson opened the year by downing then-No. 13 Stanford, 2-1, and has tied then-No. 6 Connecticut, 1-1, and then-No. 15 Brown, 0-0.  Harvard also fell to No. 20 Boston College Tuesday.

Keep On Rolling:
Following a win this season, Harvard owns a 2-0-2 record, compared to 1-1-1 after a loss and 0-3-2 after a tie.

Climbing The All-Time Chart:
With his three shutouts this season, Austin Harms ranks second in Harvard history with 16 career clean sheets. He needs three shutouts to tie Ryan Johnson '19 for the program record.

Harvard On Sunday:
The Crimson has a 0-1-1 record in games on Sunday this fall.  Harvard tied New Mexico, 0-0, and fell at Boston University, 2-1.

Extra Sessions:
Five of Harvard's games have gone to overtime this fall, all of which have resulted in ties for the Crimson.  

Harvard has earned draws against Connecticut, 1-1, New Mexico, 0-0, Stony Brook, 1-1, Cornell, 1-1, and Brown, 0-0.

Senior Leadership:
Senior defensemen Jaren LaGreca and Robert Millock are serving as Harvard's captains this fall.

The Rankings:
Earlier this season, Harvard was ranked sixth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national poll, tying the highest mark in program history.

Rookie Dominance:
Freshmen have scored four of Harvard's 13 goals (.308) and have combined for 12 of the team's 38 points (.316) this season.

On The Sidelines:
Carl Junot was named The Virginia B. and James O. Welch, Jr. '52 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Soccer on July 8, 2010, and is the 14th head coach in the history of the Crimson program. He is 4-4-5 overall and 1-0-2 in the Ivy League so far in his Harvard career. 

Joining Junot on the sidelines for their first seasons are assistant coaches Chris Gomes and Mike Graczyk.

National Ranks:
The Crimson entered the week ranked 53rd in the nation in goals-against average (0.92), 71st in shutout percentage (0.33), 100th in save percentage (0.77) and 137th in scoring offense (1.00).  Austin Harms stands 68th with a 1.01 goals-against average and 115th with a 0.75 save percentage.

Early Birds:
Harvard boasts a 3-1-2 record in day games, compared to 1-3-3 in night contests.Keeping The Streak Alive:Harvard has reached the NCAA tournament in each of the last four seasons, which is the second longest postseason streak in school history (1968-72, five seasons).

Home, Sweet Homes:
In addition to historic Ohiri Field, Harvard unveiled a new, second home, as the Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium opened on Sept. 3, 2010.  The Harvard women's soccer team earned a 2-2 tie in the first game at the new facility, while the men defeated then-No. 13 Stanford, 2-1, the following evening to mark the first night game at the stadium.

The stadium, one of the premier soccer facilities in the Northeast, features seating capacity of up to 2,500 fans, including permanent bleachers which seat 1,000 spectators, as well as additional space for standing room only sections.

MLS Alumni:
Harvard has had three players selected in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft over the last two seasons.  In 2009, Michael Fucito '08-09 was taken 46th overall by the Seattle Sounders.

Last season, Andre Akpan was selected 22nd by the Colorado Rapids, while Kwaku Nyamekye '10 was picked 60th by the Columbus Crew.  Three other Harvard players have been drafted by the MLS over the years: Will Kohler '97 (15th overall in 1997), Tom McLaughlin '98 (36th in 1998) and Kevin Ara '04 (24th in 2004).

Keeping It Close:
The Crimson owns a 4-3-0 record in one-goal contests this season.

Down The Stretch:
Following Sunday's game against Princeton, Harvard has three regular-season games remaining on the docket.  The Crimson will visit Dartmouth Oct. 30, before heading home to host Columbia for Senior Day Nov. 6.  Harvard will then close out the regular season at Penn Nov. 13.