A three-goal offensive outburst keyed the men's soccer team's 4-2 victory over Harvard yesterday at Chase Field. The game had been rescheduled last Saturday after rain wiped out the original contest.
The win was the third in a row and the second straight home victory for the Big Green, who had lost their first five games at Chase Field.
With the game tied 1-1 midway through the second half, the Big Green offense exploded for two goals in less than a minute.
After a turnover at midfield, Brendan Reidy '99 sent a perfect crossing pass from the right side. Forward Hunter Paschall '96 ran towards the net, forcing Crimson goalkeeper Jordan Dupuis to committ to Paschall. The decoy worked as the ball sailed over Paschall's head and was perfectly played by midfielder Bobby Meyer '99, who knocked the ball into the back of the netgiving Dartmoutha 2-1 lead
It took less than a minute for the Big Green to convert another Crimson turnover into a goal on an identical play. Forward August Lopez '97, who had two goals and an assist on the day, sent another crossing pass to Paschall whose right-footed blast easily beat Dupuis. The goal marked the first time the Big Green had scored three goals in a game all year.
With just over five minutes to play, Lopez scored his second goal of the game to increase the lead to 4-1 before a quick goal by Harvard closed the lead to 4-2, where it would end.
"Augie [Lopez] and Hunter [Paschall] really dominated on the offensive side of the ball," forward Gareth Jones '99 said. "We countered on every opportunity and could have easily scored six or seven times. We just outhustled them, converted our opportunities and basically got a good win as a result."
After dominating the first half, the Big Green opened the second half slowly before getting a key save by goalkeeper Matt Nyman '99. After a collision between Nyman and Harvard's Jonathan Hollinger, the ball came loose and rolled towards the net. Hollinger's rebound and apparent goal was stopped by Nyman, who earned his fourth win of the year.
The win was the second in the Ivy League for the Big Green, who raised their league record to 2-3 and their overall record to 5-10 on the season. Of the 10 losses, only three have been decided by more than one goal.
The victory was the last game at Chase Field for seniors Hunter Paschall, John Bosacco and Matt Nisbet. Paschall added one goal and two assists to give him a team leading 10 goals and 21 points on the season.
The Big Green will travel to New York to take on Columbia Saturday and then finish out their season next weekend at Pennsylvania.
