Four Goals, Four Yellow Cards, and a 4-1 Harvard Men’s Soccer Victory Over Stonehill

Sports

On a chilly night in Allston, the ice-cold Harvard Crimson (4-6-2, 2-2 Ivy League) defended its home turf at Jordan Field, securing a 4-1 win in its final non-conference matchup of the season over the Stonehill Skyhawks (4-8-2, 2-3 NEC).

With the recent memory of a painful 3-2 defeat in New Haven at the feet of arch rival Yale (3-6-3, 1-1-2 Ivy) over the weekend, Harvard was primed to work through some woes against the Skyhawks.

In its largest victory of the season since its season opener versus the University of Massachusetts, the Crimson earned its second win in non-conference play and now looks ahead to its final three Ivy League matchups.

Walking out onto the pitch in a classic 4-4-2 formation, head coach Josh Shapiro tested several lineups, bringing 10 players off the bench throughout the game.

Within the first two minutes, both squads played physically, pressing through the center of the pitch until sophomore defender Alejandro Palacio drew the first free kick for Harvard.

A dangerous cross from senior midfielder Ben Kelly earned the Crimson its first corner kick, narrowly missed by a flying header just four minutes in.

Junior midfielder Phoenix Wooten’s strong defensive work defused a repeated Stonehill barrage with a formidable challenge, shifting the momentum to Harvard.

That turn in momentum proved decisive, as a counterattack down the right side of the pitch put the Crimson ahead.

Junior midfielder Shane Lonergan, who had already placed some dangerous passes into the Skyhawks’ box, first had a chance which was deflected away by Stonehill senior defender Ethan O’Connor.

Lonergan recovered his own shot and, feet away from the goal line, bounced the ball back to sophomore forward Sophian Lovato, who shot through two defenders to secure Harvard’s first goal of the evening and the first of his collegiate career.

With just over 22 minutes left in the first half, Crimson sophomore defender Mikey Cortellessa got caught up trying to recover a clearance and received a yellow card for a challenge on fifth-year Alex Kuzmich.

In what shaped up to be a high-possession and physical first half, Stonehill fired the next three shots in rapid succession, including two from sophomore Griffith Brubaker.

The Skyhawks’ only shot on goal came minutes later from the boot of senior Jaxson Kahawai. In just his third career game, Harvard’s senior goalkeeper Nicholas Willen made a save near the bottom right corner of the box.

Stonehill put consistent pressure on the Crimson’s defense, but strong clearances and physical defending from juniors Alexander Castel and Tim Langenbahn helped keep Harvard’s clean sheet through the first 45.

Outshooting the Skyhawks eight to four in the first half, the Crimson had one last major chance in the first half as its leading goalscorer, captain Dylan Tellado, took his third shot of the half with just under four minutes left to play towards the bottom right corner of the box. Unfortunately for the home fans, the attempt was handled by senior goalkeeper Kyle Tencza.

Tencza recorded four impressive saves on the evening while letting in an equal number of goals.

Stonehill made one last series of attempts on the Harvard sticks, but the Crimson’s backline held firm to keep the 1-0 lead through the first half.

Within the second minute of the second half, Willen faced back-to-back tries from the Skyhawks, yet held both off.

Then, following a thundering cross into the box from Palacio, Tellado had the ball fall at his feet off his chest, stepping mere feet from Tencza.

With the referee directly behind the play, Stonehill freshman Owen Mello tugged Tellado’s jersey to draw a foul in the box, prompting a Harvard penalty shot four minutes into the second half.

The captain slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to convert the team’s first penalty goal of the year.

The insurance goal was only the start of what was to come, as within 30 seconds the Crimson and the Skyhawks traded back-to-back punches.

Cortellessa’s sprint from the back line left a lane for Palacio on the right wing to take the ball along the goal line, only to find senior forward Yuta Hata, who scored his first goal of the season to put Harvard up 3-0 with 33 minutes left.

Just thirty seconds later, Stonehill junior Jack Kampe found himself in the right place at the right time to steal a Cortellessa throw-in before finding fellow freshman forward Maciej Rusiecki in open space.

Rusiecki took the ball up the left side of the pitch, followed by a powerful cross past four defenders to the feet of captain Chris Hines for a shot that dribbled off of Willen’s glove for Stonehill’s only score of the evening.

Despite frequent objections from the large crowd of Skyhawks faithful in attendance, the visitors’ 11 fouls through the first 70 minutes of play critically outnumbered the Crimson’s three, giving Harvard several free kick tries to keep momentum moving in the way of the home team.

In one momentous opportunity for the Crimson, a foul by junior Alex Vecchioli in the box gave Kelly a chance to take Harvard’s second penalty of the game and season. This time, Tencza was ready to secure his fourth and final save of the night.

Speaking of fours, on the way to the Crimson’s fourth win of the season, four yellow cards were given, with three coming between the 74th and 82nd minutes.

Fifth-year Dylan Walsh of Stonehill, Harvard freshman Andreas Engle, and Skyhawks junior Nate Monteiro all received cautions, bringing the Crimson to 21 yellow cards on the season.

A crucial component of Harvard’s victory came through some major saves by Willen, including a save of a Stonehill free kick following the Engle yellow card.

Willen finished with six saves in 82 minutes before Shapiro brought on crowd favorite senior goalkeeper Will Sherwood for his first collegiate appearance.

Sherwood had his own signature moment, further rallying the Harvard fanbase with a save in the 87th minute off a shot from Walsh, holding on until freshman midfielder Arnav Maskey made a name for himself in his first appearance for the Crimson.

After an incredible midfield performance, Lonergan secured two assists and completed a give-and-go with Maskey to set up a left-footed sliding bounce shot into the back of the net. The rookie was then tackled by a celebrating army of teammates.

Maskey’s goal was one of the many highlights of Harvard’s 4-1 victory over Stonehill, leaving the team with the momentum it needs for its next challenge.

The victorious Crimson will once again get the opportunity to defend Jordan Field in a critical Ivy matchup versus Penn (6-3-3, 2-1-1). Notably, the Quakers are currently positioned second in the conference rankings and have taken down impressive teams, including No. 5 Kansas City (10-2-2, 3-0 SL).

Although Penn stands in the way as one of the Crimson’s toughest tests to date, Harvard’s strong effort against Stonehill offers hopeful optimism for what could be a resounding upset.

—Staff writer Leo P. Petropoulos can be reached at [email protected].