Fall Fiesta Hits All the Right Notes, Harvard Men's Soccer Wins 1-0

Kudos and a job well done to Harvard Athletics on their second annual Fall Fiesta soccer game, a game where the hosts defeated Northeastern 1-0 (more on that later). Unlike last year, I was in the stands, rather than the broadcast booth, for this game, and Harvard did a great job of generating student turnout for this game. Between innovative prizes (free laundry for a year) and the promise of free Crimson Cash, t-shirts, and drawstring bags, as well as free Coke products, there was plenty to get students to come out, and stay, for the game.

The Hills Were Alive
The best feature of Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium may be its location. Sitting in the stands gives you an imposing look at Harvard Stadium, and during night games, some of the Boston skyline is also visible. But the second best feature, and the most notable tonight, are the hills behind both goals. Sort of like the old European-style terraces, the hills encourage standing and are a natural congregating spot for Harvard undergrads (particularly behind the opposition's goal in any given half.) It was from there that most of the chants originated: the standard "Let's Go Harvard," the "I Believe That We Will Win" that started at Lavietes Pavillion, the "Ole, Ole" of futbol, and even an "It's All Your Fault" transplanted from the ice of the Bright Center. Sure, one minor criticism was that the chants tended to stay on the hill, but that's because the stands were mostly the province of the freshmen, who didn't know any better. Still, the stands got more into it as the game went on, and soon every goal scoring opportunity from the Crimson was met with Harvard fans rising to their feet.

Harvard Fan Comment of the Night
"Give him a Grammy!" - guy in my section after a perceived flop by a Northeastern player. Right idea, wrong awards show.

Oh yeah, the game
On top of the atmosphere, the game on the pitch lived up to the billing. Harvard seems more comfortable in the second year of Coach Junot's system and really pressed Northeastern from the get-go. That said, Harvard lacked the clinical touch in the final third for much of the game, and the best opportunity was actually the Huskies: a diving header in the box that was turned away by star senior keeper Austin Harms. Finally, though, the Crimson benefited from a set piece and in the 83', Brian Rodgers had the ball fall to him off a corner and he slotted it in to the lower left corner of the net.

More, More
Besides the creation of the Crimson rewards program that benefits attending select games, Harvard has really done a great job in encouraging student turnout. The night football games have been such a hit that Harvard is now adding a second to the schedule. Thanks in part to their winning ways, basketball has been one of the hardest tickets to get on campus. And this year, many of the men's and women's soccer games will be played under the lights of Soldier's Field. That said, Harvard should push to have more "big events" like the Fall Fiesta. For example, a "Winter Festival" with either basketball or hockey the weekend students return for the second semester, taking advantage of the relative lack of classes and work for students during "shopping period", much as the Fall Fiesta does, as well as the continuation of the "Spring Carnival" that centers around lacrosse. Again, though, a job well done to Harvard Athletics for getting more students to events. It's a positive trend to see so many budding sports fans don their school colors.

Crimson Clicks - September 1st, 2011

News, notes, and mentions of Harvard sports in the last couple of weeks.

The New York Times features an excellent article on Ivy League football, "Year of the Quarterback in the Ivy League. " Here is an excerpt mentioning Harvard signalcaller Collier Winters:

"The Harvard senior Collier Winters beat top college quarterbacks, including Andrew Luck of Stanford and Kellen Moore of Boise State, in a passing accuracy contest in July at the Manning Passing Academy, hosted by Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning."

The article also has some quotes from Harvard head coach Tim Murphy. From the paper:

“The 2011 season has a chance to be the most competitive in a long time,” Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said in a recent conference call with reporters. “I don’t think you can look at a single team in our league that doesn’t have an all-Ivy-caliber quarterback back. That’s something I’ve never seen in my 18 years in the league.”

The Gospel Herald, a global Chinese Christian news service, has a nice write-up of former Harvard basketball star and current Golden State Warrior Jeremy Lin's trip to Taiwan.

Canada's The Sports Network writes a story on former Harvard wide receiver and kick returner Marco Iannuzzi's attempts to play football professionally in the CFL for the British Columbia Lions. B.C.'s coach, Wally Buono, had this to say in the article about Iannuzzi:

"He's worked hard in practice...We're not afraid to put him in there. I think he has certain skill sets at this point that can help us. He's done a good job on teams, he has done a good job handling part of the return game. If he gets an opportunity to be a receiver I think he will do fine."

Here are Marco's comments about his experience at Harvard:

"Once that opportunity was thrown in my direction I thought I would be a fool not to pursue it to the fullest...I knew I was so close, I couldn't live the rest of my life thinking I just about got in."

New England Hockey Journal has a post about the newest assistant coach for the Harvard men's hockey team, Jerry Forton.


Until next time, Go Crimson!

WHRB's 2011 Ivy League Football "Helmet Schedule"

To our dear readers,WHRB has created an Ivy League helmet schedule listing each week of the season and the corresponding Ivy League football matchups. Helmet images courtesy of nationalchamps.net. Enjoy!

2011 Ivy League Football Helmet Schedule Sheet1

Crimson Ranked Second in Preseason Poll

For the second time in the last six years, the Harvard Crimson were picked to finish second behind the University of Pennsylvania Quakers in the annual Ivy League preseason media poll. The Harvard Crimson received two first place votes and 118 points overall, putting the squad 11 points behind the Quakers, but well ahead of rivals Yale and Brown in the polling.

12 of the 17 first-place votes went to the Quakers, who handily defeated the Crimson 34-14 last season at Franklin Field en route to an undefeated Ivy League campaign (9-1 overall). In 2011, the Quakers will be looking for their third consecutive Ivy League crown--a feat not accomplished since the Dartmouth Big Green swept the league from 1990-1992. The remaining three first place votes went to Brown (2) and Yale (1) respectively.

2011 Ivy League Football Preseason Media Poll
1. Penn (12) 129
2. Harvard (2) 118
3. Yale (1) 95
4. Brown (2) 90
5. Dartmouth 73
6. Columbia 45
7. Cornell 31
Princeton 31

Read the full press release here

Other Harvard Football News and Notes:

Jon Poppe is the newest assistant coach on the Crimson staff. The 2007 graduate of Williams College will work primarily with the secondary. Poppe is taking over the position from Dave Borgonzi, who recently accepted a position with the Dallas Cowboys. Before joining the Crimson Poppe most recently spent a year as a coach with the Holy Cross Crusaders.

The Harvard Crimson have been ranked 24th in College Sporting News's FCS Preseason Poll. The Penn Quakers, ranked 15th, were the only other Ivy League team to make the Top 25. Another former Harvard foe, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, also fared well (16th).

Harvard defensive tackle Josue Ortiz has been named by College Sporting News as preseason third-team All America. The returning senior led the Ivy League during the 2010 campaign in both sacks (7.5) and tackles for a loss (13.5). Ortiz had already been named preseason All-America by College Football Preview, and is one of eight Crimson players to be named preseason All-Ivy League.