#16 Harvard Holds Off #21 Dartmouth Men's Soccer, 2-1

Saturday, October 31

Cambridge, Mass.

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Harvard

#16 Harvard Holds Off #21 Dartmouth Men's Soccer, 2-1

10/31/2009 4:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Cambridge, Mass. — The 21st ranked Dartmouth men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought contest at Ivy rival #16 Harvard on a blustery day in Boston.

Dartmouth dominated the game from start to finish, outshooting Harvard, 18-5 for the game. Unfortunately for the Big Green, the Crimson made good on two of those five attempts, however, while keeper Austin Harms withstood the Big Green's barrage with four saves on the day.

The loss drops Dartmouth to 8-5-1, 3-2 Ivy while Harvard improves to 11-3-1, 3-1-1 Ivy. Results of Brown's matchup with Penn were not yet available, but the Bears entered the weekend tied with the Big Green at 3-1. The Crimson jumped Dartmouth in the standings with 10 points to the Green's nine.

Harvard seized the upperhand just five minutes into the game when Kwaku Nyamekye beat Dartmouth keeper Sean Donovan (Burr Ridge, Ill.) off a feed from Adam Rousmaniere. Dartmouth responded quickly, testing Harms with a flurry of shots in the next four minutes. Daniel Keat (Wellington, New Zealand) forced Harms to make a save at 5:03 and Austin Bowers (Old Greenwich, Conn.) did the same two minutes later. The Big Green earned a corner kick early in the ninth minute but Harms was there yet again to make the stop on Kevin Dzierzawski's (Oakland Twp., Mich.) header.

Dartmouth did not stop there, continuing to fight for the game-tying goal. Maarten van Ess (Marlborough, Mass.) and Dzierzawski were each off the mark while Bowers had a shot blocked.

The Big Green was relentless in the first, ultimately outshooting Harvard, 9-2. The Crimson's second shot of the half came nearly 30 minutes after its first when the Dartmouth defense blocked an attempt by Brian Rogers. Despite its offensive barrage, the Big Green was unable to get one past Harms and the Crimson led 1-0 at the break.

Dartmouth came out energized in the second half and it was just a matter of time before the Big Green got the equalizer. Keat and Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) each fired off the mark in the opening minutes before Mkosana tied things up, 1-1, in the 56th. Mkosana scored his seventh of the season with a hard shot to Harms' left off a feed from fellow sophomore van Ess.

Each team ripped shots wide before the Crimson picked up the eventual game-winenr in the 63rd. Brian Grimm played the ball up to Andre Akpan, who beat the defense and fired to the right side to put Harvard ahead, 2-1. Rogers nearly put the game out of reach minutes later when he hit the crossbar.

The teams traded possession throughout the balance of the half and the Big Green got some good looks, but could not find the back of the net. Mkosana fired twice late but Harms saved his first and his second went wide. Keat and Walker Linares (Santa Cruz, Calif.) each had two go off the mark late and the Big Green was unable to tie things up.

Mkosana ultimately led Dartmouth with five shots, two on goal, coming off the bench to play 67 minutes for the Big Green. Donovan did not make a save in goal, as the defense helped hold Harvard to only five shots all game.

Dartmouth has a quick turnaround before heading to New Hampshire this Tuesday for a 7 p.m. start. Then it's back to Burnham Field and the Ivy race next Saturday to host Cornell on senior day at 4 p.m.