As the final minute ticked off the clock in the second overtime period of yesterday's men's soccer game, there was still hope.

Harvard sophomore goalie Jordan Dupuis moved beyond midfield to add an extra man to the attack. The ball rattled around the Hartford penalty area. The Crimson tried desperately for a tying goal.

The announcer began to count down with 10 seconds left to play. Three, two, one. The Harvard players collapsed to the ground. Fatigued. Numb.

Yesterday, the season ended for the Harvard men's soccer team with a 3-2 double overtime loss to the University of Hartford in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"Having the season over is devastating," Dupuis said. "I think that the team has become really close over the course of the season and to have it end like this it just doesn't seem right. You can probably tell I've been crying and a lot of the other boys have as well. It's just something I don't think anyone can prepare themselves for."

A man down for 50 minutes of play, the Crimson could not recreate the magic that had given it a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Boston University Terriers a week earlier.

In a scenario reminiscent of last week's first round game, the Crimson fell behind early. Twenty-eight minutes into the first half, senior defender Jon Vrionis lost the ball to Hartford forward Rob Jachym on the 18-yard line just left of Dupuis.

Jachym trapped the ball with his right foot, switched it over to his left and then fired a shot into the lower right hand corner of the goal. The perfectly-placed ball--between the right goal post and the outstretched arms of Dupuis--put Hartford up, 1-0.

"I thought we would have learned Hartford  3 Harvard  2

after last week to come out in the first half and take control of the game," captain Will Kohler said. "It's just a shame that we came out the way we did because it's hard to come back."

Throughout the rest of the first half, Harvard's Dupuis kept his team in the game save after save. Twice in the closing minutes of the half, Dupuis made diving saves against point blank shots by Hartford's strong attackers.

With nine minutes remaining, Jachym, who would score all three of Hartford's goals, streaked dangerously up the left side of the field. Dupuis left his line to cut off the angle and then dove to the ground to block the shot.

Although the Harvard offense appeared out of sync during much of the first 45 minutes of play, the team was not without its scoring opportunities.

Junior midfielder Tom McLaughlin played a perfect ball in front of the goal with under five minutes to go in the opening period. Will Kohler headed the ball into the net only to have Hartford goalie Kevin Hickey leap and grab the ball out of mid-air.

In the second half, the Crimson came out more intense and aggressive.

"It's a shame, but with this team in the post-season, apparently we have to feel the pressure of being a goal down or two goals down to be able to get our game into gear," Kohler said. "The second half we absolutely dominated."

The Crimson's comeback effort was aided by the entrance of sophomore midfielder Armando Petruccelli seven minutes into the half.

"Coming into the second half we were looking for Armando to spray some balls and settle us down a little bit," Harvard coach Steve Locker said.

The Hartford defenders appeared wary of Petruccelli's dribbling skill, hanging back unsure of where he would direct the ball next.

Petruccelli skillfully handled the team's offense from midfield. Only four minutes after Petruccelli entered the game, he found an open McLaughlin on the left wing. McLaughlin streaked up the left side of the field, forcing Hickey to come out and block his shot. The play was vintage Harvard men's soccer.

However, just as things were beginning to look promising for Harvard, sophomore defender Andrew Lundquist tried to prevent a breakaway by grabbing the jersey of a Hartford forward. Lundquist was given a red card and the team was forced to play the rest of the game a man down.

It was a physical game that was tightly reffed and penalty-marred from beginning to end, with five yellow cards awarded in addition to Lundquist's red.

Undermanned but not undeterred, Harvard found the back of the net in the 76th minute of play. Kohler lofted a corner kick in front of the goal for a group of waiting Harvard attackers. Senior Rich Wilmot, positioned at the near post, headed the ball across the mouth of the goal to sophomore Lee Williams. Williams headed the ball into the upper left hand corner of the net, sending the game into overtime tied 1-1.

In the extra periods, Harvard would once again find itself trying to come from behind. Jachym faked around a Harvard defender and shot the ball into the lower left hand corner to score his second goal of the day. One minute and 38 seconds later, Jachym completed his hat trick with a similarly styled goal.

Harvard found itself tired, two goals down and a man down after less than five minutes of overtime play.

The Crimson would come to within one goal of the Hawks after freshman Alan Bengtzen scored in the second overtime period. Bengtzen angled the ball off a Hartford defender and past Hickey.

With one minute left in the second overtime, there was a flurry of shots from the Crimson, including one from Dupuis, as all the team's players crowded the penalty area.

But it was not to be. The final seconds of the Crimson's season ticked away on Ohiri Field, and not at Richmond. Even after 120 minutes of play, no one expected it to end so soon.

HARTFORD, 3-2 at Ohiri FieldHartford  1  0  2  0  --  3Harvard  0  1  0  1  --