Behind Stifling Defense, M. Soccer Makes First Postseason Appearance in Six Years

It was a sign of how far the Harvard men’s soccer team had come this year that overconfidence, of all things, contributed to the Crimson’s undoing in the Ivy League race.

Needing just a tie in its season finale against a struggling Brown squad, the Crimson appeared to have its first league title in six years wrapped up. Instead, the Bears pushed Harvard around for most of the 90 minutes in the would-be clincher, handing the Crimson its most lopsided loss of the year, 3-0.

“We were confident, but maybe that was a problem—we were a little overconfident,” Harvard Coach John Kerr said retrospectively last week.

All teams looking to improve on a last-place league finish should have such problems. Harvard’s 2000 season, which saw the Crimson win just one game in league play, was short on self-esteem boosts. But when the successes started piling up this year—a 2-1 overtime upset of then-No. 6 San Diego was the biggie—soccer became fun again.

The turnaround was of such epic proportions that it was hard not to be proud. Despite its misstep against Brown, Harvard—ranked in the national top-20 at the time—received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was the Crimson’s first trip to the postseason since 1996.

The defense certainly had earned the right to strut, what with the six consecutive shutouts it posted down the stretch. The streak matched a 32-year-old school record and came with senior Dan Mejias and freshman Jamie Roth taking turns in net. Both performed well and, just as importantly, both had three-year starter Mike Lobach—an All-Ivy and regional First Team All-American—and a cast of talented backliners patrolling in front of them. Juniors Joe Steffa and Michael Cornish, sophomore Andrew Old and freshman Jason Andersen all starred on the Crimson’s phenomenal defensive unit.

The offense was just as reliable. Sophomore Ladd Fritz, one of Kerr’s many recruiting coups of the past two years and a First Team All-Ivy selection in 2001, led the team in goals with six and tied for the overall scoring lead with classmate Kevin Ara.

Freshman forward Jeremy Truntzer delivered extra scoring punch up front, netting eight points in his rookie campaign, while Cornish had a team-high four assists. Six games into the season, Harvard had already matched its goal output from the entire year before.

The roster featured only a handful of seniors, but so many of them played the role of hero at various points that they were hard to miss. There was Mejias, who posted a 0.89 GAA in 10 appearances; Michael Peller, a Second Team All-Ivy pick who notched the game-tying goal that forced overtime, in addition to netting the only strike in the Crimson’s 1-0 victory at Cornell; and team captain Nick Lenicheck, whose 10 points were third-most on the team despite an ankle injury that sidelined him near season’s end.

Their experience—or was it their pent-up frustration with losing?—blended perfectly with the rest of the team’s youthful exuberance to produce a new aggressiveness, a new level of intensity and eventually, a swagger.

“We’re the best team in New England right now and we’re on our way to proving it,” Peller said after the Crimson’s 1-0 whitewashing of Penn gave Harvard its first 10-win season since 1996.

That brashness didn’t always pay off for Harvard. Three different players—Lobach, Fritz and Ara—received ejections when all hell broke loose in the Crimson’s 3-1 setback against Loyola Marymount. Harvard’s extraordinary depth made a contest out of the team’s next match against Boston College, but there was only so much the Crimson could do with its two leading scorers and best defender on the sidelines. Harvard lost, 3-2, and the Crimson didn’t recover in the national rankings for weeks.

Ara also had to sit out the Crimson’s NCAA tournament meeting with Rutgers for drawing too many yellow cards during the season. Harvard missed him—and an injured Truntzer, as well—as the Scarlet Knights held the Crimson scoreless.

It was one of the few occasions when Harvard was stopped cold. Up until that point, the Crimson spent much of the year giving opposing defenses fits.

“The attack was balanced and the defense played magnificently,” Lenicheck said, summing up the year. “Coach did a good job of using different formations. It was difficult for opponents to prepare for us. We gave other teams a lot of different looks, and it made us a hard team to beat.”

Harvard will not be taking anyone by surprise anymore, not after last season. But that’s just fine with the Crimson, who want very much to take the next step.

“Next year will be a critical year, especially with a strong senior class,” Fritz said. “We are hungry for an Ivy League title and hope to advance even further into the tournament.”

That Ivy title is most important, Kerr stresses. “It gives you credibility,” he said. If there still are any non-believers lingering out there, Kerr insists the Crimson won’t be repeating the mistake it committed against Brown.

“There were lessons learned from that game, lessons about not taking things for granted,” Kerr said.

If that’s true, then it may just be a matter of time until Harvard—once the pride of the Ivy League on the national scene—enjoys full bragging rights again.

MEN'S SOCCER

RECORD 10-5-1 (5-2 Ivy)

COACH John Kerr

Captain Nick Lenicheck

Highlights Crimson upsets No. 6 San Diego in September en route to its first 10-win season in six years. Despite just missing out on a share of the Ivy title, the Crimson earns an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.