Shake It Off: Red Prepares for Yale

It’s time to move on for the men’s soccer team. With two straight losses behind them, the players are ready for a change, and they look forward to their game against Yale this weekend as an opportunity to redeem themselves.
The Red (5-4-0, 0-1-0Ivy), though forward-looking, cannot quickly forget the games against Binghamton or Harvard and will use these experiences as reminders.
“If anything is serving our motivation, it’s not connected to Yale, but instead to the two losses we have just experienced,” said sophomore Matt Bouraee. “As a team, we are not proud of our game against Harvard and we have been focusing on our intent to win and proceed with the season in a positive manner.”
Sophomore Miyad Movassaghi agreed and emphasized the downfall of adapting to another team’s playing style, instead of forcing them to accommodate and adjust.
“Our concentration is now 100 percent on our game,” Movassaghi said. “Last weekend it seemed as if we concentrated more on Harvard’s play than on our own. We know we are better than how we played. I felt that I personally had a bad game, and because I don’t like making mistakes, I’ve taken it upon myself to improve and try to help make everyone else’s game better, too.”
Yale (2-4-2, 0-0-1) has not been scored on since its contest on Sept. 23 against University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This defensive accomplishment, however, has not been mirrored by an offensive surge.
Yale has scored only five goals so far this season, one since the UW-Milwaukee contest — a span that included two ties and a win.
In the Ivy League season, the Bulldogs played Dart­mouth to a 0-0 tie. Dart­mouth has been widely considered a strong squad and has received recognition by the NCSAA as an impressive squad. Dartmouth outshot Yale 17-8, yet could not get past the Yale keeper, senior Eric Geiger.
Sophomore Matt Bouraee attested to the depth of the Yale roster, which has talent ranging from the seniors to the freshmen.
“The goalie, Eric Geiger, and freshman Dale Peterson are teammates of mine for our club team,” Bouraee said. “Both players are very talented; Dale is really skillful and played for a professional youth team in Brazil called E.C. Victoria. We’ll see how our midfield counteracts his play. I expect Dale and Eric to be particularly influential in the game’s outcome, but I’m confident in my teammates to overcome the challenge.”
The Red has not changed its outlook and plans to treat this Ivy League competition as such — another game and another chance.
“I’m not particularly concerned with the other teams, but care more about the way my team plays,” Movassaghi said. “This game is no different to us than any other game — we are going into it fired up and with full concentration until the final whistle. Hopefully with a win we will gain momentum for the rest of the Ivy League.”