“Coach is looking for continuous improvement,” Harrington said. “[He wants] us to hit our peak going into the Ivy League season. He’s satisfied with the level of improvement we’ve had each game and each week leading up to those games. We just need to continue that trend forward, and by the time Ivy League comes hopefully we’ll have everything down as perfectly and we’ll be able to face those teams with our best foot forward.”
Lehrer hopes his players can build on their progress from game to game, bringing in new techniques and improving upon their system every day.
“We think we can compete in every game,” Lehrer said. “We really in our hearts believe that and believe we have the ability to do that. I feel like that’s one of the strengths of the team is there is constant improvement. We look to improve every moment we can and there’s a lot of detail that comes into that because the players are wanting to do that.”
Noting the success of the freshmen as contributors for the Crimson thus far, Harrington said that he advises them to build on this year for the future.
“Beyond this season, the freshmen have to take in what the seniors, juniors and sophomores are doing now and their process of trying to win games,” Harrington said. “It takes some serious thought and dedication to have that kind of long-term mentality, but your four years here go quicker than you might imagine. The more they’re thinking about the longer term and how they want to lead in the coming years, the better they’ll be going forward.”
Geberkidane’s teammates said they are expecting a lot from the freshman in a very short period of time, as the team begins conference play Oct. 5.
“Ashi will be asked to now step up his role offensively as far as goal production,” Harrington said. “Many of the freshmen have already played quality minutes for us, which isn’t really something you expect; the ability to be mature and acclimate themselves to play Division I coming straight out of high school isn’t normal. For someone to make that jump so quickly and readily is impressive. With his cross country background, he’s made a great transition, just being a guy who can work for as long as we need him to go up there and help our team defensively as a forward, which is not something many forwards are willing to do or able to do.”
Geberkidane appreciates the ability he has been given to fulfill his dream, while preparing for the competition and intensity that conference games will bring.
“I remember growing up as a kid and just thinking Harvard was out of my league,” Geberkidane said. “But now I’m here and living it. Representing Harvard at a higher level is so cool. To put that jersey on every day, to put that practice stuff on reminds me how hard I worked to get here. I love wearing that ‘H’ going on the field more than anything in the world and I’ve got to do my part for our team by capitalizing on scoring opportunities.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
CORRECTION: Sept. 27, 2013
An earlier version of this article was accompanied by a photo featuring sophomore Oliver White. It has been replaced by a photo of freshman forward Ashi Geberkidane.