University of Washington
4-0-2, 0-0Pac-12
Harvard
1-3-2, 0-0Ivy
Washington Settles For 0-0 Draw With Harvard
September 20, 2015 | Men's Soccer
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SEATTLE – No. 9 Washington stayed undefeated, but not in the fashion they hoped, drawing with Harvard, 0-0. The Dawgs (4-0-2) appeared a bit sluggish early on, fighting through a quick turnaround from Friday's game, but dominated late, although unable to find the winner.
The Huskies outshot Harvard 19-11 for the game, including 8-1 in overtime, but could not beat Harvard goalkeeper Jose Mendez who made seven saves. Perhaps the best chance came in the second overtime when Josh Heard was played through into the box and he bent a ball towards the far post, but a diving save was made.
“Until we made adjustments to have better shape and play sensibly we looked bad,” said head coach Jamie Clark. “I finally thought we corrected it and played within ourselves in the overtime and we looked great.”
It was in the overtime that the Huskies began to really take it to Harvard, but the Crimson nearly won it on their only chance. A shot on goal dipped in the wind and ricocheted off the crossbar, before Ryan Herman could control it. Herman earned his fourth shutout of the season, making four saves, but was not tested often.
Herman was not tested much because the Husky back four continues to dominate. The group of Luke Hauswirth, Quentin Pearson, Justin Schmidt and Justin Fiddes earned the fifth clean sheet in six games for the Dawgs.
“The defense was really good and probably limited them to three or four chances,” said Clark.
Offensively, Washington had their chances, mostly from distance, but struggled to put many shots on goal. Ian Lange and James Moberg each had two shots on goal, but the best strike from distance came from Henry Wingo, but it was saved. Corban Anderson also hit a powerful volley that appeared on target, but a Harvard defender was able to deflect it over the bar.
Washington also had a 10-4 edge on corner kicks, but a strong wind made the service tough to be precise.
Next up for the Huskies are a pair of rivalry games, beginning with a trip to Seattle U. The Dawgs renew the annual derby on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Redhawks Championship Field. Sunday, Washington hosts Portland for the traditional rivalry for a 3 p.m. kick.
“These are the two rivalry games,” said Clark. “These are going to be really fun. They're going to be probably the most competitive games we've played all year”.
