The men's soccer team posted its second Ivy League win Saturday night, earning a 1-0 victory on the road over Harvard.
Harvard (2-9-1, 0-3 Ivy) has struggled this season, dropping its first two Ivy matches against Yale and Cornell, 1-0 and 3-1, respectively. The Bears (7-4-1, 2-1) were prepared for a hard-fought matchup, knowing that a third loss in league play for the Crimson would diminish all chances of a conference title for Harvard.
"Harvard is traditionally a powerhouse, and they were coming out looking to turn their season around," said defenseman Ryan McDuff '13. "They knew that if they lost this game, their season was likely over, and so they threw two or three extra forwards up front and fought the whole game."
But the Bears did not back down, and midfielder Evan Coleman '12 scored the game's lone goal in the 31st minute, netting a pass from forward T.J. Popolizio '12. The goal marked Coleman's second in as many games, and Popolizio earned his second assist of the season.
"He plays with a lot of passion," McDuff said of Coleman. "He kind of surprised the keeper last night. He took a page out of (Popolizio's) playbook and toe-poked one in."
With their season hanging in the balance, the Crimson kept up the pressure for the rest of the game, but found the Bears' defense unrelenting. Though Harvard held a 4-1 advantage in shots in the second half, goalkeeper Sam Kernan-Schloss '13 made three saves to improve his record to 4-2-1 overall.
McDuff said he was proud of his fellow defenders for maintaining their composure late in the game.
"We put up a fort and defended the Alamo in the backfield, and we held out for the 1-0 win," he said.
The Bears return to action Saturday night when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to face an undefeated Cornell side in another Ivy showdown. With a victory, the Bears could move into first place in the conference.
"Cornell is a very improved team in the Ivy League," McDuff said. "They are 3-0 right now, but our guys are focused. We need to work hard and scrap, and hopefully we will win this game and be on top of the Ivy League."
