That’s not to say there isn’t hope sfor Harvard in the next few years. Junior co-captain and 2014 All-Ivy first team member Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu will return for his final curtain call, joined in the midfield by 2014 Ivy Rookie of the Year Sam Brown, who has continued his stellar play this season.
Lehrer has done a great job on the recruiting trail as well, bringing in four-star recruits such as freshmen Jake Miler and Cesar Farias along with sophomores Christian Sady and Brown. The UCLA grad has also found players who have made an early impact in sophomores Tyler Savitsky and Nate Devine.
The Crimson has the pieces to continue its upward trajectory in the future, but the senior class is still arguably irreplaceable.
The importance of the seniors was highlighted this past weekend at Yale, as Schmoll and Freeman found the back of the net. White was the primary instigator in the Elis' own goal and drew the penalty that Schmoll converted. Klain assisted Freeman’s goal, while Mendez stopped two of the three shots on frame.
The 3-1 victory against Yale is a step in the right direction for a team that looks to finish atop the Ivy League, but the next stretch of games will be pivotal.
The Crimson faces Cornell and Brown before back-to-back games against defending co-champions Princeton and Dartmouth. With every game being equally important—just ask the 2013 team, which could have claimed the title before playing Penn had they not lost to then sixth-place Yale—it is imperative Harvard follows Lehrer’s philosophy of one game at a time.
In Lehrer’s third season in charge of the Crimson, the squad is finding its groove at the right time and will gain some confidence following its performance in New Haven. This could be the lightning-in-a-bottle moment that Lehrer needs to finally take his team atop the Ancient Eight.
However, if Harvard squanders its newfound momentum and its last year with the class of 2015, it might prove difficult for that Ivy League championship to come sometime soon in the Lehrer era.
—Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at julio.fierro@thecrimson.com.