Harvard Crimson men's soccer

Harvard Crimson soccer
Founded1905; 119 years ago (1905)
UniversityHarvard University
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
StadiumJordan Field
NicknameCrimson
ColorsCrimson, white, and black[1]
     
Home
Away
Pre-tournament ISFA/ISFL championships
1913, 1914, 1926, 1930
NCAA Tournament College Cup
1969, 1971, 1986, 1987
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1984, 1986, 1987
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1984, 1986, 1987, 2009
NCAA Tournament appearances
1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Conference Regular Season championships
1955, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1969, 1970, 1987, 1994, 1996, 2006, 2009

The Harvard Crimson men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Harvard University. The team is a member of the Ivy League of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.[2]

The Crimson fielded their first varsity team in 1905,[3] making the team one of the oldest college soccer programs in the United States, and one of the oldest continuously operating soccer programs in the United States. Most of the Crimson's success came in the mid-1910s, where they won two ISFL (the college soccer predecessor to the NCAA) championships, and again in the late 1920s to the early 1930s.

A Harvard (dark shirt) v Yale game in 1922

Since their 1930 ISFL title, the Crimson have failed to win a national title, although in the late 1960s and early 1970s the Crimson reached the College Cup twice. Also, in both 1986 and 1987 the Crimson reached the NCAA Division I Final Four. Their most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship came in 2009, when the Crimson reached the round of 16.

From 2013 through 2019, the Crimson were coached by Pieter Lehrer, a former assistant coach for the California Golden Bears men's soccer program. In 2014, Ross Friedman attained two all-time Harvard records with 12 season assists and 17 career assists, also ranking 6th in the NCAA in assists and 5th in assists per game.[4]

In November 2016, the team were suspended by the university after the student newspaper The Harvard Crimson published an article which indicated that team members had shared a yearly document in which they ranked new members of Harvard Crimson women's soccer team by their sex appeal and described them using sexually explicit terms. The suspension meant that they could no longer participate in any further games in the 2016 Ivy League men's soccer season (which they had been leading at the time of the suspension) or the National Collegiate Athletic Association.[5][6][7]

Several professional soccer players, including Shep Messing, Ross Friedman, Andre Akpan, Michael Fucito and John Catliff played for the Crimson, as well as several notable professionals outside of the soccer world. This includes Theodore Roosevelt III, Daniel Needham and John Johansen.

  1. ^ "Color Scheme" (PDF). Harvard Athletics Brand Identity Guide. July 27, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Men's Soccer". Harvard University. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  3. ^ Men's soccer history on gocrimson.com
  4. ^ Batterson, Paul (January 23, 2014). "Homegrown Friedman hopes to become a permanent part of the crew". Columbus Free Press. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  5. ^ Fahs, C. Ramsey (October 25, 2016). "2012 Harvard Men's Soccer Team Produced Sexually Explicit 'Scouting Report' on Female Recruits". The Harvard Crimson.
  6. ^ "Harvard ends men's soccer team season over lewd rankings of female players". The Guardian. November 4, 2016.
  7. ^ Chokshi, Niraj (November 3, 2016). "Harvard Cancels Rest of Men's Soccer Season Over Lewd Ratings of Female Players". The New York Times.