No. 6 Harvard Hands No. 15 Men's Soccer First Loss, 1-0

Saturday, October 17

1:30 pm

Brown University

Harvard

No. 6 Harvard Hands No. 15 Men's Soccer First Loss, 1-0

10/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Harvard's Andre Akpan scored the lone goal of the game just two minutes into the second period to hand the No. 15 Brown men's soccer team its first loss of the 2009 season. The No. 6 Crimson improved to 9-2-1 overall and remain undefeated in Ivy League play with a 2-0-1 record, as the Bears dropped to 7-1-4 overall and own a 2-1 record in the league.

The game was an even battle, as both teams combined for 12 shots this afternoon. The Crimson and Bears both tallied six in the first period, including four shots on goal, but neither team could find the back of the net. The squads stayed even in shots for the second 45 minutes of play, but Harvard's Andre Akpan was able to come up with the golden goal at the 47:49 mark.

Akpan received a pass from Brian Rogers in the box and nailed a bouncing shot that went past Brown goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand (Orono, MN). Grandstrand earned his first loss of the year (7-1-4) and earned four saves.

Brown's offense couldn't get one by Harvard's Austin Harms in goal, who tallied five saves today, despite the Crimson playing with just 10 guys on the field during the final 35 minutes due to a red card. Sophomore Sean Rosa (Montreal, Quebec) led the squad with a team-high four shots, three of which were on goal, as Mike Manella (Toluca Lake, CA) added two shots.

The Bears will look to rebound when it takes on St. John's at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and will then travel to Ithaca to challenge Cornell at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24.