No. 17 Cornell Storms Back to Beat Men’s Soccer 2-1 in Ivy Tournament Semifinals

On a journey to Ithaca, N.Y., full of emerging talent and a fortunate series of tiebreakers, the Harvard men’s soccer team braved the showers on a chilly November afternoon to challenge No. 17 Cornell, the top seed in the Ivy League Tournament, and struck first in a bid for a historic upset.

However, the storms thundered too loudly, as the nationally ranked Big Red (12-3-1, 6-0-1 Ivy League) rallied for two goals in the final ten minutes, defending its home pitch at Berman Field to defeat the fourth-seeded Crimson (4-8-4, 2-3-2) with a final score of 2-1.

Entering the final weekend of the regular season with the lowest win percentage among teams tied for fourth place, the fact that Harvard earned the fourth seed in the Ivy Tournament took many by surprise.

After a 3-3 draw with Dartmouth on Senior Day at Jordan Field, the team’s post-season hopes came down to one specific permutation: a draw between Brown and Yale and a Penn win over Princeton. Miraculously for the Crimson faithful, the team ultimately clinched a tournament bid after winning the ensuing three-team tiebreaker over the Bears and the Big Green.

Harvard hadn’t beaten Cornell in its last nine meetings since 2017, tallying seven losses and two draws. In the Crimson’s conference opener, both teams kept a clean sheet through the first half, but the Big Red eventually charged to a 4-1 win, spurred by two goals from sophomore forward and All-Ivy Second Team honoree Kasper Wollstein.

Since then, Cornell maintained an undefeated record through conference play — with its only draw coming against Yale, the eventual third seed. The Big Red rapidly secured its place atop the Ancient Eight rankings, entering the tournament with 19 points — seven ahead of the second-seeded Quakers.

From the start of the semifinal clash, Cornell countered Harvard’s strong-press tactics with its own, forcing the Crimson’s backline into several high-pressure moments.

Harvard’s only First-Team All-Ivy athlete, sophomore forward Adam Poliakov, tried to flip the pressure back onto Cornell with an early effort just under 10 minutes into the first half, only to run into the Big Red’s freshman goalkeeper Reuben Clarson on the edge of the 18-yard box.

Poliakov’s effort drew Harvard’s first yellow card of the half, one of the three the team committed while holding Cornell scoreless through the first 45 minutes.

Just minutes later, Crimson junior defender Tim Langenbahn committed his second of three fouls, giving the Big Red a dangerous free-kick opportunity that was cleared away by an offside call.

Consecutive throw-ins kept raising the tensions until the powder keg exploded following a corner kick by the host 18 minutes into the match.

As Cornell players clogged the six-yard box, the Crimson had to defend attacks from many angles, and sophomore forward Blake Donahue ultimately fired the ball toward the goal. Luckily for the visiting team, the shot ricocheted off the crossbar and fell out of bounds for a Harvard goal kick.

The Crimson kept Cornell away from the penalty box for the next 10 minutes, an effort spurred by freshman midfielder Gil de Souza, who committed a tactical yellow-card infraction.

However, a little over 30 minutes into the half, Harvard’s defense faced its toughest test yet, with two rapid-fire Big Red shots coming just feet away from the net. Cornell’s offense quickly ramped up the pressure after settling the ball along the midfield line, setting up the first shot of the barrage.

Freshman midfielder and defender Lennon Harrington’s attempt was heroically blocked away, giving the Big Red an opportunity to cross the ball back to the left side and set up junior defender Aidan Martin for a try.

Martin’s shot narrowly missed the net, going off to the right and keeping the defensive showdown scoreless.

Harvard’s goalkeeper Jason Broome’s clean sheet in the first half didn’t come easily, as the sophomore repeatedly had to dispel Cornell’s valiant attempts to convert.

Big Red freshman midfielder Ashton Wray, a victim of the slippery pitch, committed a sliding foul as Harvard made several attempts to clear the ball, only for it to end up back in the attacking half for the hosts after a Crimson free kick.

Martin once again found space in the box, but Broome got his broom out, diving to his left and sweeping the shot away to set up a clearance.

At halftime, the Crimson had registered zero shots on goal, compared to Cornell’s eight — three of which were on target, all resulting in saves from Broome.

Refocusing and resting up during the break undoubtedly benefited Harvard, which demonstrated newfound confidence and prowess in the second half.

After senior All-Ivy First-Teamer midfielder Connor Miller disrupted the Crimson’s first counterattack of the second half, the Big Red was awarded its first yellow card of the game, though its keeper collected the long free kick.

Harvard, though, soon won its chance. After a deep run ahead of the Big Red’s defensive line, Cornell junior defender Griffin Eck brought down Poliakov in the penalty box, prompting head coach Josh Shapiro to challenge for a review.

The penalty was awarded, and Poliakov whipped a shot that ricocheted off the left crossbar and swung back into the net to put his team up 1-0.

The 30 minutes left to defend against the 17th-best team in the nation and best team in the conference was no small task for the Crimson, which faced 18 shots from Cornell in the second half alone.

Over 90 minutes of action, Harvard braved 26 shots, and only dished out seven – all of which came in the second half.

Poliakov’s penalty conversion did a number on the attitudes of both squads, as the Big Red exhibited an even more offensive and fast-paced style of play.

Harvard was able to mount more counterattacks when Cornell overcommitted on attacks, largely thanks to remarkable Crimson defensive play through 80 minutes of action.

With a little over 17 minutes left, one of Harvard’s captains, forward Andreas Savva, chased down Miller.

Miller’s run into the box ended with him getting tripped up with the Crimson’s captain, earning the Cypriot a yellow card, Harvard’s fourth of the match.

Cornell followed with two of its own cautionary infractions, with the next coming in the 78th minute from a challenge by Eck, the defender who committed the earlier foul that set up Poliakov at the spot.

That was Harvard’s last real opportunity to respond to a Big Red mistake while leading, as just past the 81-minute mark, Cornell struck back.

A substitution just thirty seconds prior proved to be the missing piece in the Big Red’s goal-scoring puzzle as the host brought on junior forward Nate Hovan to finally break through the wall Harvard built.

Cornell utilized methodical ball movement to break through the Crimson’s back line, which struggled to maintain its footing on the soaked turf.

Hovan used the chaos to make a run up the left side of the 18-yard box to receive the second-to-last pass before disaster. The junior’s cross bounced past Broome, who was stationed in the right corner of the net, as Eck, making up for his two defensive missteps, slid in to level the score at 1-1.

In a quick effort to re-establish a lead, sophomore midfielder Lucas Benuce Sarvas, surrounded by two defenders, succumbed to the rain-soaked turf and struck the ball out over the net.

What followed could only be described as a barrage, as Cornell launched four straight shots and three corner kicks in the next five and a half minutes, until finally, in the 87th minute, the duo that had already haunted the Crimson earlier in the match struck again.

Lightning may actually strike the same place twice, as for the Big Red’s second goal, Hovan’s corner kick was punched away by Broome. However, Eck was in the right place at the right time to score, fighting past a series of blocks from Broome to end Harvard’s season in dramatic fashion.

Two consecutive Crimson attempts to level the score with under 30 seconds left fell away when Clarson made the game-winning save off of a shot from sophomore defender Maxwell Mobray, to the exhilaration of the hometown crowd.

Cornell’s victory earned it a championship match dance with the second-seeded Penn Quakers, and for Harvard, however painful the final result, it offered hope and optimism after what had been a trying season.

A final weekend bid, a roster full of young talent, and a valiant battle against one of the best squads in recent Ivy League memory bode well for the Crimson program’s future.

Harvard will graduate some incredible attackers, including the team’s leading goal-scorer, forward Dylan Tellado, as well as forward Yuta Hata, midfielder Ben Kelly, and Savva, along with a pair of beloved goalkeepers, Nicholas Willen and Will Sherwood.

Yet the defense that kept Cornell at bay for 80 minutes will be back in force, a summer stronger, ensuring the future of Harvard soccer is safely at the feet of a young generation of footballers with a chip on their shoulders and cleats.

— Staff writer Uy B. Pham contributed reporting.

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