Freshman forward Jake Freeman provided the Crimson its best scoring opportunity in the 63rd minute, firing a shot on goal that was stopped by Gaucho keeper Austin Mansker. Harvard continued to apply pressure and sophomore Hiroki Kobayashi recorded the Crimson’s second shot in the 83rd minute, an attempt that went wide.

With the clock running out and less than two minutes remaining in the match, Friedman lobbed in a long throw-in to Freeman, who received the ball and took a left-footed shot that just missed the net—two feet high—for Harvard’s final shot of the match.

“It was unfortunate we didn’t score, but I really think we gave them a scare,” Friedman said.

UC Santa Barbara outshot the Crimson, 8-3, in the second half, but Harvard bested the Gauchos on corner kicks, 5-1.

Wolfenzon believes Sunday’s close contest will provide a confidence boost for Harvard heading into its Ivy opener against Yale (3-3-2) on Saturday.

“[This match] showed [us that] we can hang on the field with one of the top-three teams,” Wolfenzon said. “We are excited and ready [for the start of Ivy play]…. We are confident in our ability to both play soccer and outwork teams.”

CAL POLY 2, HARVARD 1

Despite a strong start, the Harvard men’s soccer team came up just short Friday night, as the Crimson fell to Cal Poly, 2-1, at Alex G. Spanos Stadium in the first of its two weekend contests.

Harvard came out strong against the Mustangs (5-3) in the first half, with junior midfielder Kyle Henderson taking the first shot of the game. Henderson’s attempt sailed over the bar, but the Crimson continued to provide offensive pressure. After Harvard missed its first five shots, senior forward Zack Wolfenzon netted his first goal of the season in the 27th minute to give the Crimson the lead.

Wolfenzon has been a key player for Harvard since returning from injury in the Crimson’s match against Michigan State on Sept. 7.

After the Crimson’s 3-2 overtime loss to Southern Methodist University on Sept. 9, Harvard coach Carl Junot pointed specifically to Wolfenzon and sophomore forward Michael Innocenzi as integral pieces of the Harvard offense.

“We need them to score some goals for us, but they created a lot of our offense by running past their defenders and crossing in balls, so I think they influenced the game in the way we like them too,” said Junot after the loss to SMU. “They just need to score goals.”

Two matches later, Wolfenzon made good on Junot’s wish, dribbling the ball 40 yards down the field through three Mustang defenders. The forward then beat Cal Poly goalie Chase Hauser to give Harvard the 1-0 lead.

The defense also did its part to keep the Mustangs shut out in the first half, limiting their offense to only four shots in the period.

But Harvard had issues with penalties, receiving two yellow cards—one for Wolfenzon and another for the whole team—and a red card on freshmen goalkeeper Evan Mendez, who handled the ball outside of the box for his second red card of the season. Mendez’s ejection forced the Crimson to change goalkeepers, and classmate Festa stepped in late in the first half.