Harvard Drops Finale to Penn

Quakers Take Ivy League Title

November 17, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The No. 26 Harvard men’s soccer team fell 1-0 in overtime at No. 24 Penn Sunday afternoon, giving the Quakers a share of the Ivy League title with Dartmouth.

Harvard finishes up the regular season with an 11-5-0 overall mark and 5-2-0 record in Ivy League play and will now await Monday evening’s NCAA tournament selection show to see if it will advance to the NCAA postseason for the third consecutive season. Penn shares the title with Dartmouth, but takes the league's automatic bid based on head-to-head record.

The Crimson outshot the Quakers, 15-9, for the game, but Penn had both shots in overtime. At 94:08, Loukas Tasigianis broke through the Harvard defense and found himself 1-on-1 against Crimson ‘keeper Austin Harms. The Penn forward blasted a shot that went past the Crimson keeper and into the back of the cage, lifting Penn to the Ivy League title.

The Quakers (11-2-4, 5-1-1) put two early quick shots on net in the first half, but Harms stood up to the challenge and stopped attempts by Unger and Christina Barreiro. At 15:11, Andre Akpan registered Harvard’s first shot on net, forcing Drew Healy to make the save.

The Crimson put the pressure on the Quakers in the final minutes of the frame. Michael Fucito took a shot that went wide of the cage at 37:02, and was followed by a blast by Akpan which was saved by Healy. Akpan had another chance just 32 seconds later, but the ball soared wide and out of play.

The Crimson came out firing in the second, as Fucito put a shot on net at 46:28 and Harvard followed with a corner kick, but could not muster another opportunity on the possession. Penn moved the ball down the field and Barreiro recorded his second shot on goal of the afternoon, but Harms snared it and cleared away.

The back-and-forth action continued as Akpan kicked another shot at Healy, but the Quaker goalie made his fifth save at 50:30. Two minutes later with Penn on the attack, Harms came up big once again, stopping a chance by Omid Shokoufandeh.

With 3:11 to go, Penn’s Alex Grendi got the last shot off in the second, but the ball went wide of Harms and the game moved to overtime. Harvard held a 15-7 advantage in shots during regulation time, including 8-4 in shots on goal.

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