Harvard Men’s Soccer Falls to RV Cornell in Ivy Opener

After a tough non-conference slate, the Harvard men’s soccer team made the trip to Ithaca, N.Y., to open its Ivy League campaign on Charles F. Berman Field against RV Cornell. The Crimson held the Big Red scoreless through the first half, but Cornell erupted for four second-half goals to dish Harvard a 4-1 loss.

So far this season, the Crimson (1-5-1, 0-1 Ivy League) has struggled to convert on offensive opportunities. The Big Red (5-2, 1-0), on the other hand, has had a much more successful start to its season, highlighted by an upset over then-No. 21 University of California Santa Barbara.

From the start, both teams struggled to build offensive momentum, setting up the stage for a defensive clash. Strong defensive lines and a lack of runs on both sides kept the teams quiet for the first 14 minutes.

Harvard captain Andreas Savva was then cited for a yellow card as both teams played a physical game and committed repeated fouls. Cornell attempted early shots on the Crimson’s sophomore goalkeeper Jason Broome, but he easily turned them away, tallying two saves in the first half.

On Harvard’s offensive end, sophomore forward Adam Poliakov and captain Dylan Tellado created early looks at the net, but their attempts were unsuccessful as the Crimson struggled to break through Cornell’s stout defense.

The teams traded possession in the midfield until Broome was forced to block a shot at the left corner from a Big Red free kick, with less than 30 seconds left in the half. The sophomore goalkeeper concluded the first half with a clean sheet, but so did Cornell.

The Big Red dirtied up Broome’s clean sheet with a goal in the first five minutes of the second half. Despite Harvard’s attempts to maintain its defensive posture, Cornell’s senior forward Adam Schaban created enough space to slip a shot into the bottom right corner of the net.

Nearly six minutes later, the Big Red scratched its second goal onto the scoreboard. An assist from Schaban set up sophomore forward Calvin Momanyi, who extended the home team’s advantage to 2-0.

Around 63 minutes into the game, Savva finally broke through Cornell’s tough defense to score Harvard’s lone goal of the evening. Poliakov threw the ball from out of bounds, where it appeared to initially be intercepted by the Big Red. However, junior midfielder Phoenix Wooten quickly regained possession and fed the ball to Savva, who deflected it into the net.

Despite earning two corner kicks, the Crimson was then unable to notch an equalizer.

Cornell, meanwhile, retaliated to Harvard’s offensive surge with a goal by junior forward Kasper Wollstein.

With the Crimson down by two, the Big Red sealed its fate with another Wollstein goal with seven minutes left. The junior’s two-goal performance against Harvard earned him the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week title.

The Crimson could not convert its last few attempts of the match, so the final score held at 4-1.

Harvard will return home to Jordan Field to face Columbia (3-1-2) on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. EDT. The Lions’ original Ancient Eight opener was supposed to be a home contest against Brown, but the match was rescheduled due to inclement weather. The Crimson will hope to rebound from its loss to the Big Red with a big win on its home turf over Columbia.

—Staff writer Neeraja S. Kumar can be reached at [email protected].