Coming off a 3-0 victory over Columbia, the Harvard men's soccer team (2-1-1, 1-0-0 Ivy) is ready to face one of its most formidable Northeastern rivals as it takes on Boston University this afternoon at Ohiri Field at 3:30.
B.U. defeated Harvard last year in the regular season and eliminated the Crimson from the NCAA Tournament, so Harvard will try to avenge those setbacks.
Furthermore, the Terriers come into the match ranked fourth in the Northeast, while the Crimson is only eighth, so Harvard has a lot to gain by winning the game.
"We have a lot of vengeance coming into this game--a victory would be a big turning point for us," junior forward Will Kohler said.
If the Crimson continues to exhibit the same strong play that it did in Saturday's trouncing of Columbia, the odds are strong that it will tally another win. Kohler led the offense with two goals and one assist against the Lions, while at the other end of the field junior goalie Peter Albers pitched the shutout with seven saves.
The team also did it without the services of junior Kevin Silva, who isn't expected to play today.
The win over Columbia puts Harvard on top of the Ivy League chart along with Brown and Princeton. The Bears, who are presently undefeated overall, defeated Yale in overtime on Friday.
Both of Brown's goal were scored by junior forward Eric Block, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week.
Princeton squeaked by Cornell on Saturday with an overtime goal scored by senior forward Jesse Marsch. Princeton also boasts the Ivy League Rookie of the Week in freshman midfielder Chris Halupka, who scored two goals and notched one assist in the Tigers' 5-2 victory over American last week.
This weekend, Brown and Princeton will compete for an untarnished record. Pennsylvania will travel to New York to face Columbia, Dartmouth will battle Yale and the Crimson will attempt to conquer Cornell in Ithaca on Sunday.
The Crimson has reason to be optimistic about its future.
"We showed our potential in our win over Columbia, who had been favored to win the league," junior T.J. Carella said. "Princeton and Brown are also playing well, and we are looking forward to playing those teams."
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