No. 9 Harvard Hosts Penn on Senior Day, Looks to Clinch Ivy League Title

Pictured: The Class of 2010 has helped Harvard to 50 wins and three appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot Photography

Live Statistics
Ivy League Standings

The Game:
The ninth-ranked Harvard men’s soccer team closes out the regular season by welcoming Penn to Ohiri Field on Senior Day. The Crimson is looking to clinch the program’s 13th Ancient Eight title with a win against the Quakers.

Follow From Home:
Live statistics will be available for Saturday's game.

Ivy League Title Scenarios:
If Harvard wins against Penn, the Crimson clinches the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and outright title. If the Crimson ties the Quakers, Harvard will need a Brown/Dartmouth tie on Sunday to win the conference’s automatic bid and outright title. The Crimson has beaten Brown and Dartmouth this season to own the tiebreaker against those two teams.

Last Time Out:
A goal in the 95th minute by Alex Chi lifted the Crimson to a 2-1 victory in overtime at Columbia Nov. 7. Brian Rogers assisted on the game-winning tally and notched a goal himself in the 79th minute to tie the game. Austin Harms earned his 11th win of the year, making three saves.

Series History:
Today’s contest marks the 71st meeting between Ivy League rivals Harvard and Penn. The Crimson owns a slight advantage, 34-31-5, but the Quakers have taken two of the last three games.

About Harvard:
With one more victory this year, the Crimson will have earned the most wins for the program in a season since the 2006 campaign (14 wins).

Andre Akpan paces the squad with 11 goals and 28 points, and is tied for the Harvard lead with Adam Rousmaniere with six assists. Akpan has netted four game-winning tallies, while Brian Rogers, who is second on the team with 17 points, has three game winners.

Between the posts, Harms stands 11-3-1 with five clean sheets and a 0.85 goals-against average to his credit. He is 4-1-1 in conference games this fall.

About Penn:
The Quakers, winners of two of their last three games, are coming off a 3-1 loss to Princeton Nov. 7.

With six goals apeice, Christian Barreiro and Alex Takakuwa are tied for the Penn lead. Three of Barreiro’s tallies have counted for game winners, while Tobi Olopade leads the way with four assists.

In goal, Ben Berg has seen most of the action and boasts a 4-4-3 record with four shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.49.

Two to Tie:
Andre Akpan currently sits in second-place in the all-time record books at Harvard for number of goals in a career. To date, Akpan has netted 45 goals for the Crimson. Akpan trails Chris Ohiri ’64 by just three goals.

Honoring the Seniors:
Harvard will honor its five seniors prior to the game: Andre Akpan, Brian Grimm, Desmond Mitchell, Kwaku Nyamekye and Adam
Rousmaniere. These players have helped Harvard to 50 wins over their careers and have made three appearances in the NCAA tournament, as well as winning the Ivy League title in 2006.

Up Next:
The Crimson will await the NCAA selection show on Monday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNews.