Harvard Eliminated By USF

Early Goal Tough to Overcome in 2-1 Defeat

Novemeber 26, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. – A John Stamatis first half goal wasn’t enough and the No. 30 Harvard men’s soccer team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament Tuesday, falling 2-1 to No. 8 South Florida in a second round game at USF Soccer Stadium.

Harvard completes its season 12-6-0, while USF advances to the third round of the tournament with a 15-4-2 mark.

“This is definitely a tough one to swallow,” said Michael Fucito, a senior co-captain on the Crimson. “They were the best team we played all season, but if a couple of things had gone our way, we could have won.”

John Stamatis' goal wasn't enough to spare the Crimson from defeat. (Harvard Athletics)

The Bulls got on the board quickly, scoring on a header by Zak Boggs that trickled to the right of a diving Austin Harms at 4:08. Jason Devenish made a cross pass from just outside the left corner of the box towards the center, finding a wide open Boggs for a one-timer off his head.

Midway through the half, the Bulls turned the ball over in their own zone, giving the Crimson an advantage in numbers. Andre Akpan played the ball at the top of the box, spun and flipped a quick bounce pass to Fucito, who was crashing down the right side. Fucito moved in towards the goal and got a strong shot off which deflected off USF goalkeeper Jeff Attinella and out of bounds.

On the ensuing corner, Brian Grimm crossed the ball towards the crowd in front, finding Luke Sager, but Sager’s header flew just high of the cage.

The Crimson’s pressure paid off at 23:44 when Stamatis blasted home a shot into the left side of the net. Fucito fed Stamatis, who was standing in the right corner of the box, with the ball from the right. Stamatis’ shot bounced once before settling inside the far post.

With 1:20 to go in the first, Florida’s Jordan Seabrook received a pass towards the left side of the box and got a shot off with his right foot. Harms reached to his left and deflected it bound of bounds.

“We came down to one of the harder places to play in the country,” said Harvard coach Jamie Clark. “We were brilliant for 30 minutes in the first half, but they were able to capitalize on a chance in the second.”

At 63:25, USF’s Sebastian Thuriere kicked a hard shot on goal from around 35 yards out. Harms went to his right and stopped the initial shot, but the force of the shot created a long rebound. Boggs snuck through two Crimson defenders, collected the rebound and put it into the top right corner for his second goal of the game, giving the Bulls a 2-1 lead.

In the 82nd minute, Akpan, playing the ball on the left side, aimed a pass to Stamatis, who was 25 yards away from the cage. Stamatis dribbled the ball to his right, and took a hard shot that went high over the USF net. The Crimson tried to push the ball into the USF zone for the remainder of the game, but Harvard was called for being offside twice and could not muster another shot.

“It’s a shame to lose our six seniors who have carried this team to three straight NCAA Tournaments,” Clark said. “They have done so much for this program.”

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