Harvard Men’s Soccer Draws No. 2 Vermont 0-0

On Tuesday night, the Harvard men’s soccer team welcomed No. 2 Vermont — the defending national champions — to Cambridge in a hard-fought defensive showdown that ended in a 0-0 draw. With the result, the Crimson became the first team to hold the Catamounts (8-0-4, 2-0 AEC) scoreless this season.

“They are very good, and we knew we would have to be disruptive and make it hard on them,” Head Coach Josh Shapiro said in a postgame interview with ESPN.

“Probably gave up 20 pounds per person on the field there. And 2 or 3 years in age. But our guys fought and were really really brave and committed for the badge today. Really proud of the effort,” he added.

In front of a packed and rowdy Jordan Field crowd of over 1,500 Harvard came out swinging. In the intense battle, both teams shot the ball nine times, with each side only landing one shot on goal.

From the opening whistle, the Crimson faced a Vermont side that entered unbeaten through 12 games. Despite having a rocky start to its conference season, Harvard rose to the occasion. The Crimson’s back line, anchored by sophomore center backs Alexander Castel and Tim Langenbahn alongside freshman Alejandro Palacio, absorbed the Catamounts’ early pressure and forced Vermont into wide, low-percentage crosses that did not yield much success.

The Crimson was able to match Vermont’s physicality throughout, with the teams combining for a total of 22 fouls.

“We’ve deserved the result. It was hard-earned. Our guys put in a ton of miles and a ton of tracking,” Shapiro added.

The first clear chance of the night came when junior forward Andreas Savva nearly broke the deadlock in the 17th minute, firing a shot that a Vermont defender blocked. A minute or so later, Savva bent a free kick from distance, just over the crossbar, a warning sign that Harvard was not intimidated by the Catamounts’ prestigious national ranking.

At the cusp of halftime, senior midfielder Matúš Vician tested the waters, forcing Vermont’s keeper Niklas Herceg into his lone first-half save. Almost immediately in response, the Catamounts found their best chance of the half with just seconds left on the clock, but a skewed shot from eight yards out broke the momentum and closed off the half.

In the 56th minute, the Catamounts nearly found their breakthrough. From inside the penalty area, an off-balance low drive slipped through defender traffic toward the far post, but senior goalkeeper Lucian Wood sprang to his left, stretching into a full extension to deflect the shot wide.

Wood finished with his second clean sheet of the season and the sixth of his career.

“I think it was commitment from all 11 to do the work on the defensive side of the ball,” Shapiro said. “Defending is attitude and mentality, discipline and technique. But the attitude’s gotta be first and I think the attitude was excellent.”

As the match wore on, Harvard’s confidence grew. With ten minutes remaining, sophomore forward Xavier Tanyi caught the Catamount’s central defensive midfielder off guard with a well-timed interception, the ball slipped through to Savva, who charged one-on-one toward goal before sliding his shot just a few feet wide of the post.

After persevering through long stretches without offensive pressure, Harvard had one more chance to win at the end. In the 87th minute, Tanyi again surged forward, unleashing a blistering strike from distance that flew just inches above the crossbar in what would have otherwise been a wonder goal.

“We needed an energy boost, and I think this is something we can step on and build from,” Shapiro said.

On Saturday, the Crimson will return to Jordan Field to take on its archrival Yale. Over the last five contests between the rivals, Harvard holds the edge, boasting a 3-1-1 record. Despite the recent history, the team remains determined to be unrelenting this weekend.

“Our guys will be excited, motivated, and really eager to get Yale here on Saturday night.”

If Tuesday was any indication, the Crimson is ready to fight.

– Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at [email protected]