Yale Athletics

The Yale men’s soccer team (7–5–2, 2–1–2 Ivy) fell to Harvard (4–4–6, 2–1–2 Ivy) despite a solid performance, they lost to a strong Syracuse team (7–3–5, 2–1–4 ACC). They were able to bounce back against Columbia (2–7–3, 0–4–1 Ivy) in order to keep their Ivy League hopes alive. 

The team met their rivals in Cambridge on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Bulldogs started off strong against Harvard but were unable to score in the first half despite registering seven more shots than their opponents, having a goal disallowed for an offsides call and hitting the crossbar. 

The team finally managed to get on the board in the 61st minute thanks to a goal by Joseph Farouz ’27 off a corner kick. The celebrations would not last long as Harvard responded just two minutes later with a goal of their own, tying the game at 1–1. The last ten minutes of the game saw tragedy for the Bulldogs as Harvard took the lead in the 80th minute off of a corner of their own. A last minute goal by Harvard brought the final score to 3–1. 

“The Harvard game was super tough because we were the much better team for 65 minutes,” goalie Chris Edwards ’24 said. “We just couldn’t finish our chances.” 

Coach Kylie Stannard said she gives Harvard credit for capitalizing on their chances but added that Yale’s first half goal should not have been called offsides. The team did not have time to think about any missed chances or calls as their focus shifted to their game against defending NCAA Champions and No. 21 nationally ranked Syracuse on Wednesday, Oct. 18. 

The game proved to be as challenging as expected, with Syracuse taking a 1–0 lead in the 20th minute thanks to a goal by Felipe D’Agostini. Just two minutes later, D’Agostini registered his second goal of the game to double their lead. From there, it was a tough physical battle that saw the Bulldogs pick up seven yellow cards after the 40th minute, the last one a questionable second yellow for defender Jake Schaffer ’24 that left Yale down a man for the last 12 minutes of the game. A 90th minute penalty save by Edwards left the final score 2–0 in favor of last year’s champions. 

Schaffer, the team’s captain, told the News that the team performed well despite the losses, and will always take every game as an opportunity to learn. The team needed to bounce back against Columbia on Sunday in order to stay competitive in the Ivy standings.

“It’s easy to get complacent when you’re seven games unbeaten so we just emphasized getting back to the basics and doing the little things well,” Edwards said. 

After another scoreless first half, the Bulldogs looked to bring home the much-needed win in the second half. In the 64th minute, a pinpoint cross by Max Rogers ’24 was headed home by Eric Lagos ’24 to give Yale a narrow lead. Columbia managed to tie the game in the 78th minute as the Bulldogs faced another possible late-game disappointment. 

However, another heroic link-up play by Rogers and Lagos in the 82nd minute gave Yale fans reason to celebrate as the Bulldogs’ leading assist-maker sent the team’s leading scorer through on goal. Lagos converted his second goal of the game to retake the lead and give Yale the 2–1 win. 

“I am very proud of how the guys responded after Columbia got their equalizer,” Stannard said to Yale Athletics. “Ultimately, it took a couple special plays by Eric Lagos and Max Rogers to find the goals today and hopefully they have some more in them in the coming games.”

The victory left Yale at the top of the Ivy standings alongside Cornell (8–3–2, 2–1–2 Ivy), Penn (5–3–5, 2–1–2 Ivy) and Havard. The No. 1 seed gets the advantage of hosting the Ivy League Tournament, so with only two more games left in the regular season the Bulldogs will look to finish the season strong. 

The Bulldogs will face Cornell in Ithaca on Saturday, Oct. 28, and finish the regular season at home against Brown (4–4–6, 1–0–4 Ivy) a week later on Nov. 4. Cornell is currently ranked 27th in the country, the best of any Ivy League team. 

“We need to approach these last two games as any other game this season,” Schaffer said. “If we start changing things now, it can allow doubt, stress, or anxiety to creep in. We need to stick to what has worked for us and take pride in our final two regular-season performances.”

The Bulldogs last won the Ivy League in 2019.