ITHACA, N.Y.--Despite holding the Big Red scoreless for 60 minutes, and snapping Cornell's four-game shutout streak, the Harvard men's soccer team failed to obtain a much-needed win, falling 3-1 Saturday at Berman Field.

The Crimson (2-6-1, 1-2 Ivy) closely contested the Big Red (6-3, 3-1 Ivy), but still lost its third straight.

True to past form, Harvard was able to contend with its opponent for quite some time before relinquishing any goals. The Crimson held then-No. 8 Yale scoreless for a half before losing 3-0 Sept. 25 in New Haven, and held Stanford scoreless for 87 minutes, then lost 1-0 Oct. 1.

Though neither team managed to score for the first hour of the game, once the scoring did begin, it arrived in droves, with Cornell scoring three times in the next 15 minutes.

Though Cornell eventually managed to win rather handily, the game was a back-and-forth contest between two very evenly-matched teams.

"I'd have to say this game was 50-50; it could've gone either way," Harvard Coach John Kerr said. "The teams were dead even. A simple lack of awareness at crucial times just killed us."

Moreover, Harvard was able to be very competitive with a Cornell team which was riding a stretch of four straight games during which it held its opposition scoreless. During that stretch, the Big Red even managed to defeat No. 17 Brown.

Yet, thanks to outstanding defensive performances from freshman back Mike Lobach and goalie Dan Mejias, the Crimson was able to equal Cornell's shutout through two-thirds of the match.