Despite controlling the game for the entire first half and much of the second, the Harvard men's soccer team could not maintain a 1-0 lead in a tough 2-1 loss to regional opponent Fairfield yesterday at Ohiri Field.

The loss virtually ends Harvard's (7-5-1, 1-3 Ivy) chances for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. A victory against No. 15 Fairfield (12-2-2), ranked second in the region and unbeaten in its last ten contests, would have helped the Crimson to catch the eye of the tournament selection committee.

"Out of all our games against top teams this year, this was our best chance to pull an upset," sophomore midfielder Marc Buan said. "We definitely stayed with them throughout the whole game. The way the game went was not indicative of the score."

In the early going, Harvard indeed appeared on the verge of an upset. Despite the absence of last week's Ivy League Rookie of the Week Grayson Sugarman, who sustained an injury this weekend at Princeton, the Crimson played aggressively on offense and held Fairfield to relatively few scoring opportunities during the first 30 minutes of play.

"We were winning all the 50-50 balls," freshman back Andrew Nechtem said. "We also moved the ball really well. We were ready to play right from the outset and I don't think they were."

Then, freshman forward Spencer George received a pass from Buan, beat a Fairfield defender and found the back of the net, giving the Crimson a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute.

"It was a counterattack play and we had numbers going the other way," George said. "Buan played a brilliant ball and I was able to control it and get around the defender. Fortunately I got their goalie leaning the wrong way and I shot it to the near post."

Harvard remained on the attack for the rest of the half but could not extend its lead. Fairfield came out with a little more fire to start the second half, and while the Crimson defense had been able to hold Fairfield's efforts in check early on, the game began to shift.