On Sunday, Harvard men's soccer will take on the Haitian national team in a charity match designed to raise money for relief of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Le Rouge et Bleu are currently ranked 99th in the world out of 202 FIFA nations. Haiti is a member of CONCACAF, the same continental grouping as the United States. Haiti's last major win came in the 2007 Caribbean Nation's Cup and their lone appearance in the World Cup was in 1974. They had 1 win, 2 losses and a draw in the 2009 Gold Cup, the region's biennial championship but failed to qualify for the 2011 edition. Haiti has played one international friendly this year, losing one-nil to El Salvador in February. They will play another, opponent TBD, in June in preparation for the 2014 World Cup Qualifying.
Because of FIFA's rules, Les Grenadiers will not be featuring their full strength 'A' squad, because clubs are only required to release players for FIFA sanctioned international friendlies. Therefore, the squad all play their domestic soccer for clubs in Haiti.
This game, to be held at Harvard Stadium on Sunday April 10, at 5pm, can be heard live on 95.3 FM and WHRB.org in English.
Below the jump, the roster and some facts about Harvard's opponent in this charity match.
Manager: Edson Tavares (Brazil)
The Brazilian born Tavares was appointed to the Haiti job in 2010. He has some international experience, having managed Vietnam to a 4-6-1 (W-L-D) record during his time there in 2004 and he was the assistant manager for Chile in 1989. Haiti are 2-2-1 under the current boss with 5 goals scored and 7 conceded.
Goalkeepers:
1. Peterson Occenat - The 23 year old keeper plays his club football at Aigle Noir and has mostly served as a backup for Haiti, but has earned five caps in the process. His last appearance came in Haiti's one-nil win over Qatar when he was subbed on during the 46th minute and proceeded to keep a clean sheet.
12. Bekenson Fortune - The young keeper, who will turn 21 in a month's time, is getting his first real look from Mr. Tavares. It appears Fortune is uncapped though he did serve as a backup in the 2010 Digicel Cup- not getting any time.
Defenders:
2. Samuel Mardochee Pompee - The youngster, who will turn 17 in just three days time, is getting his first taste of soccer at the senior level side. Pompee has gotten time for Haiti's U-17 squad, playing most recently against Costa Rica in the CONCACAF U-17 tournament this past February, the lone game Les Gardiens played before withdrawing due members of the team contracting malaria. Pompee has a game winning goal to his credit - unfortunately, he scored an own goal in the 84' for Barbados in the 2010 CONCACAF U-17s after Haiti had kept it 1-1 despite being down a man thanks to an early red card.
3. Parnel Guerrier - Guerrier brings the most experience of the Haitian back line, having earned 8 caps for Le Rouge et Bleu. Guerrier, who plays his club soccer at Victory SC, last saw action on the Haitian back line in November of 2010 as part of the Caribbean Cup side that defeated St. Vincent's and Grenadines 3-1, a match where Guerrier picked up a yellow in the 73'.
5. Makendy Duverger - The 34 year old Duverger plays domestically at Tempete, a team that finished fourth place in 2009 in the CFU Championship with Duverger seeing significant minutes in the international club tournament. Despite his age, he's still a rookie in international football, only earning his first cap in 2010, coming on as a substitute in the '46 minute against El Salvador.
15. Jean Ismael Voltaire - Another youngster, the 16 year old has featured in the U-17s for Haiti and has impressed Mr. Tavares enough to get a trial run with the senior team. He also played, with Pompee, in the game against Costa Rica in the U-17 championship. His only statistic of note is a yellow card he picked up in the 55' of a 2010 U-17 affair against the Dominican Republic, a heavy 6-0 victory for Haiti.
16. Junior Clairssainvil - The 29 year old member of AS de Carrefour has been trying to establish himself with the Haitian senior squad, earning three caps in the process. His last appearance came as a substitute in the 62' minute of the 1-0 win friendly win over Qatar in 2010.
17. Jean Garry Rubin - The 21 year old plays at America des Cayes and has made four appearances for the Haitian squad. His last appearance came against Qatar and he played the whole 90 minutes on the backline.
18. Wilde Donald Guerrier - The second Guerrier on this squad, this one is a 22 year old, having celebrated his birthday just recently back on March 31st. He plays for Violette FC and has four caps to his name for Haiti. He played against Qatar in 2010, coming off in the 62' for Clairssainvil.
Midfielders:
4. Saul Cyprien - Not much is known about the youngster Cyprien, who has yet to (it appears) make an appearance for the Haitian squad, possibly at any level. According to one Danish newspaper, Cyprien lost his home in the 2010 earthquake and briefly moved to Denmark for three months in the summer with Haitian teammate Bony Pierre to train and play for three months with the Randers FC U-19 squad. He joins Pierre now at Victory SC.
6. Joseph Nicoderm Beauge - The 20 year old plays his soccer at Violette FC, having moved there from Cavaly this past season. He has only 1 cap to his name, making his international debut as a sub in the 61st minute against St. Vincent and Grenadines in the 2010 Caribbean Cup.
7. Widler Durosier - Not much is known about Durosier, who plays domestically for Aigle-Noir. He was one of 30 players called into the Haitian camp in September of 2010. He is listed by one site as a U-17 though he did not feature in the game against Costa Rica. He has not been capped at the senior level.
10. Valdano Paul - Paul, the Tempete 20 year old, is just starting to get his shot at senior international football, having earned two caps for Haiti. He last got action for Haiti subbing on in the 76' in the 1-0 loss to El Salvador in February.
13. Constant Jean Junior Monuma - Monuma has made the most of his six caps so far. The midfielder, who turned 29 on April Fool's Day, is tied for second amongst Haiti's callups for this match in goal scoring, having scored the lone goal in Haiti's one-nil win over Qatar in 2010. The Don Bosco FC player also featured in the 1-0 loss to El Salvador in February, coming on in the 46'.
14. Samuel Desrochers - Desrochers, who also plays at Don Bosco FC, is new to the senior squad, having not been capped in international play. Not much else is known about the midfielder.
Forwards
8. Fritzon Jean Baptiste - Baptiste is the most experienced player called into the Ivy League matches, having earned 21 caps. The striker has not disappointed either, scoring 5 goals in that span, the most of any of the callups for Harvard. The Aigle Noir striker will be looking to impress, as he has not featured in the senior squad under the new manager, having last played in the heavy 4-0 defeat to Argentina in a friendly. Four of his goals came in 6 starts during 2006 but he has been limited to mostly substitute duty since then. The 6'1" striker has 12 goals in 78 league appearances domestically.
9. Bony Pierre - Another youngster, Pierre left Haiti in 2010 for a brief stay at Randers FC U-19 with Saul Cyprien. He now plays in Haiti at Victory SC. He has not been capped.
11. Ricardo Charles - The 27 year old striker is looking to make a name for himself. Despite having only four caps, the forward has earned himself a goal for the senior squad, scoring against St. Vincent and Grenadines in Haiti's 3-1 win over them in the 2010 Caribbean Cup, Charles' first start and 2nd cap. Charles plays his club soccer at Victory SC, the 2010 Ligue Haitienne Cloture champions. He last featured for Haiti in the Qatar friendly in 2010.
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