No. 9 Harvard Prepares to Play Princeton

Pictured: Austin Harms and the ninth-ranked Crimson are 5-0 at home this season.
Photo courtesy: David Silverman Photography

The Game:
No. 9 Harvard hosts Princeton in a key Ivy League contest this afternoon at Ohiri Field. The Crimson enters the game unbeaten in conference play with a 2-0-1 record, while Princeton is fourth with a 1-2 mark.

Last Time Out:
Harvard defeated Providence College 2-1. All three goals of the contest came after the 87th minute. Desmond Mitchell broke a scoreless tie and got the Crimson on the scoreboard with 2:09 left to play. Mitchell finished from seven yards out off of a cross from Adam Rousmaniere. Andre Akpan buried a penalty kick 13 seconds after the Friars’ evened the game with 14 seconds left in regulation. Austin Harms made two saves for his ninth victory of the year.

Series History:
Today’s contest marks the 84th meeting between the teams with Harvard holding a 39-36-8 record against Princeton. The Crimson won the first meeting in 1905, 1-0. Harvard has also won the previous three matches and hasn’t lost to the Tigers since 2002.

About Harvard:
The Crimson, which owns a perfect 5-0 record at Ohiri Field this season, has won its last 11 games at home, dating back to 2007. Harvard is outscoring opponents, 23-9, including 14-5 in the second half.

Andre Akpan, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, paces the squad with nine goals and five assists for 23 points. Brian Rogers has 14 points to his credit on five goals and four assists. Adam Rousmaniere has dished out five assists this season, which ties him with Akpan for the team lead.

In goal, Austin Harms boasts an 9-2-1 record in the 12 games he has started this fall. He has recorded five shutouts and boasts a 0.74 goals-against average, while owning a .804 save percentage.

About Princeton:
The Tigers enter today’s contest with a 6-5-2 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Ivy League play. Princeton has earned two consecutive 3-0 victories over Columbia and Colgate.

Josh Walburn leads the Tigers with six scores and one assist for 13 points. Brandon Busch, Antoine Hoppenot and Matt Sanner have all tallied three goals this season.

Sean Lynch has started all 13 games for Princeton in goal. Lynch owns a 1.25 goals-against average and a .691 saves average this season. He also has three shutouts to his credit.
Double-Digit W’s:
With the win over Providence, Harvard marks its fourth straight season with at least 10 wins. The Crimson currently stand at 10-2-1 overall this season.

Chasing History:
Andre Akpan currently sits in second-place on the all-time record books at Harvard for number of goals in a career. To date, Akpan has netted 44 goals for the Crimson. With four games left in the regular-season, Akpan trails Chris Ohiri ’64 by three goals.

Up Next:
The Crimson closes out the month of October by hosting Dartmouth on Halloween, Oct. 31. Harvard owns a 5-0 record at Ohiri Field this season.