Sophomore Jake Freeman, seen here in previous action, helped the Crimson get off to a strong start. Harvard could not hold on to its lead, however, and fell to Providence, 3-1.

Seeking its first win of the season at Providence on Thursday night, the Harvard men’s soccer team held the lead for just over two minutes in the first half.

Just before the break, junior forward Hiroki Kobayashi broke through the Friars’ defense and beat Providence goalkeeper Keasel Broome, netting his first goal of the season. But the Friars (4-0-1) responded quickly on the other end, and Harvard (0-3) fell, 3-1, in its third consecutive loss.

“We really wanted to beat this team,” said senior defender Ross Friedman, who had two of the Crimson’s five shots. “They play in the Big East against a lot of strong competition, and it’s a very well known program.”

Playing against the wind and into the sun in the first half, the Crimson was on its heels as the Friars came out firing. Providence took eight shots to Harvard’s two and was awarded four corner kicks, the last of which led to its first goal.

After a corner kick into the box, the ball bounced around with five seconds to play in the first half. Freshman midfielder Julian Gressel collected a low cross from sophomore midfielder Manny Andrade and beat Crimson goalkeeper Brett Conrad from the right side to tie the game.

Despite losing its lead, Harvard got on the board first in its second straight game. Last time out against Davidson, the Crimson scored in the 60th minute before allowing the game-tying goal 12 minutes later and going down, 2-1, with less than three minutes on the game clock.

“We sustained a pretty heavy onslaught in the first half,” Harrington said. “We were able to come out of that with a goal and the lead. The positive takeaway is that we were able to stick with it and stay confident, even though the game wasn’t going our way for the first thirty minutes.”

The Crimson held off the Friars for the first thirty minutes of the second half when—locked in a 1-1 tie—Providence capitalized on a penalty kick to take the lead for good. In the second of two goals scored off set pieces, senior midfielder Anthony Baumann scored his first goal of the season after being fouled in transition.

Five minutes later, the Friars opened up their lead to two. Conrad blocked a shot by freshman defender Nick Sailor, but Andrade collected the rebound and fired it into the lower left corner of the net. It was the third straight game in which Harvard allowed a goal in the final 20 minutes.

“When we’re down at the end of the game, we’re pushing forward trying and trying to score, so it’s a little bit of a give and take,” Friedman said. “You’ve got to throw numbers forward, and it leaves you a little vulnerable in the back at times.”

The Crimson started three freshmen against the Friars, midfielder Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu and forwards Ashi Geberkidane and Daniel Smith. Smith and Geberkidane have started all three games this season, and six of the seven rookies on the roster have seen playing time. Geberkidane is second on the team—after Friedman—with four shots, including three on goal.

“They’re getting used to the college game,” Friedman said. “Obviously there’s a little bit of a learning curve, but they’ve adjusted really well. A great part about our program is that we see ourselves as a team of leaders, so they have just as much influence on and off the field as a senior does, and I think we’re a better team for it.”

The Crimson struggled to find opportunities on the offensive end of the ball, taking a season-low five shots throughout the course of the 90-minute game. Harvard opened its season with a nine-shot showing against Iona but was unable to score.

Last time out against Davidson, the Crimson had 16 chances, one of which found the net. In order to start picking up wins, Harvard will need to overcome the 1.97 average goal differential of the last three games.

Under the new leadership of coach Pieter Lehrer—hired after the 2012 season—the Crimson is confident that the season will continue to come together in the five games before conference play begins in early October.

“The bounces weren’t going our way, but we had a lot of chances we could have capitalized on,” Harrington said. “It was not because of any individual performance or lack of effort. We can’t really let it linger on our minds for too long. We’ve got a big game coming up on Sunday, and that’s the focus.”

—Staff writer Hope Schwartz can be reached at hope.schwartz@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @HopeSchwartz16.