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.
