Dartmouth Men Tackle Harvard for Homecoming Nightcap

The Dartmouth men's soccer team welcomes Ivy rival Harvard for the final athletic event of a busy Homecoming Saturday, kicking off at 7 p.m.

Dartmouth (6-6-1, 1-3 Ivy) is currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak and hosts a Harvard (4-5-5, 1-1-2 Ivy) squad that is winless in its last four. The Crimson has lost its last two games after tying the previous two. The Big Green has not lost four games in a row since the 2003 season. Both Dartmouth and Harvard have played Boston College in the last week, each losing 2-1.

Game 14: Dartmouth (6-6-1, 1-3 Ivy) vs. Harvard (4-5-5, 1-1-2 Ivy)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010 • 7:00 PM
Location: Burnham Field • Hanover, N.H.
Series Record: Harvard leads, 43-36-8
Last Meeting: 10/31/09, Harvard W, 2-1 (Cambridge, Mass.)
Streak: Harvard +1
Harvard holds a seven-game lead in the all-time series, though Dartmouth has had the upperhand in recent years. Prior to the Crimson's 2-1 win last season, the Big Green won back-to-back 1-0 contests in 2007 and 2008. Overall, since 2000, Dartmouth owns a 7-3 advantage in the series. This historic rivalry began in 1916, 2-1 Harvard win and resumes in 1920, a 5-1 Dartmouth triumph. The teams played annually through the 1941 season and following the World War II break, resumed the series in 1946 and have played every season since.

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A LOOK AT DARTMOUTH: The Big Green has had more than its fair share of heartache in recent games. Dartmouth's last two losses (at Columbia, 2-1 and at Boston College, 2-1) have both come on an opponent goal in the 89th minute. In both contests the Big Green battled back to tie the game after trailing 1-0. At Columbia it was Daniel Keat (Wellington, New Zealand) scoring in the 67th minute but the Lions got the game winner with just 1:16 to play. At Boston College Teo Larsson-Sax (Kalmar, Sweden) tied the game at 1-1 in the 73rd minute, but again the Eagles scored with just over a minute to play for the win.

Keat and Larsson-Sax are the Big Green's leading goal-scorers with three each. Keat has a team-high seven points with three goals and one assist and is tied with Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) in points (two goals, three assists). Senior Lyman Missimer (The Woodlands, Texas) has recently taken over starting duties in goal and has made two saves with a 2.00 goals against average. Missimer got the win at Vermont in his first start of the season.

A LOOK AT HARVARD: The Crimson have had a roller coaster season but have proven to be a tenacious bunch - playing to overtime five times and never losing in extra time, earning five ties. After starting the season with an impressive win over Stanford following by a victory at UMass, the Crimson went on a six-game winless streak, going 0-3-3 including ties with New Mexico and Stony Brook, who Dartmouth defeated and lost to. Harvard snapped that streak with wins over Yale and Holy Cross, but is again on a four-game winless streak at 0-2-2.

Sophomore Brian Rogers has had a quieter season than last, when he won Ivy Rookie of the Year honors and tallied 18 points. Rogers has just seven points (three goals, one assist) this season, tied for the team lead with Scott Prozeller. Austin Harms is the primary keeper for the Crimson with a 1.09 goals against average and 37 saves but the 6-7 Brent Conrad sports a 0.93 GAA in three starts.

RPI ROUNDUP: The Ivy League has once again shown its quality this fall, with three Ancient Eight teams ranking in the top 25 in the latest NCAA RPI index. Brown stands at 20th followed by Penn and Princeton at 23rd and 24th respectively. Those three teams are also ranked in the NSCAA Top-25 poll. Dartmouth finds itself at 58th in the RPI followed by Harvard at 66th.

NCAA QUALITY HISTORY: The Big Green has played in the last three NCAA Tournaments, all on at-large bids. In 2008, Dartmouth and Penn tied for the Ivy Championship but the Big Green got the better of the Quakers come tournament time, earning the #16 national seed. Penn received the Ivy's automatic bid by virtue of its regular-season win over Dartmouth. After a first-round bye, Dartmouth advanced past Boston College on penalty kicks and ultimately lost to defending champ Wake Forest in the Sweet 16.

ASSAULTING THE RECORD BOOKS: Two current Dartmouth players have already inked their names on the program record books for scoring. Junior Lucky Mkosana (Bulwayo, Zimbabwe) should have his sights set on the career records for both goals and points as he was more than halfway to both marks after just two collegiate seasons. As of Oct. 28, Mkosana now has 21 career goals, which is tied for seventh and is 12 away from the record of 33, held by Bob Drawbaugh '54. He also has 51 career points, ranking seventh and just 26 points away from Vladdy Stanojevic's '90 record of 77. Senior Daniel Keat currently has 48 career points, in sole possession of eighth place on the all-time list. With 19 career goals, Keat is tied for 10th all-time.

NEXT TIME OUT: Dartmouth stays home with a quick turnaround to host instate rival New Hampshire on Nov. 2 before trekking to Cornell for an Ivy showdown on Saturday, Nov. 6.

Schedules