Lining Them Up

Coach Jack Carr will have some opportunity to see whether or not his team has improved since the opening of the season two weeks ago against Williams. In that game the soccer team looked as though it were sure to develop into a far letter than average outfit, even though the Purple emerged from the tilt triumphant, 3 to 2, after an overtime period. But since then, in two games with the weak Tufts and M. I. T. squads, the Crimson has not come up to expectations, even in winning.

So far Harvard has been a two-goal team, and only the weakness of the Tech and Tufts forwards gave the booters their victories. Against the Engineers they did show flashes of excellent playing, however, and several individuals displayed marked Improvement and even approached stardom.

Ives Improves

David Ives, a halfback made over into a fullback, is the most improved man on the squad. He spent his Sophomore year in the shadow of Captain Johansen, whose understudy he was, but this fall, given a new position, he has proved himself one of the outstanding players on the team. His chief asset is a cool head which offsets his lack of experience.

The second surprising Improvement is that of Henry Murphy, captain of last year's Yardling squad. A second-stringer at the beginning of the fall, he broke into the starting lineup at center in the Tufts game and proved himself by scoring the winning goal. In the Tech game he was the outstanding star, scoring another goal and coming close to several more. "Murphy" has a priceless talent for playmaking which is the factor that makes him a successful pivot man, but neither this nor his accuracy in setting up shots is as obvious to the layman as his speed and agility.

Penson Shows Up Well

Another Sophomore who has shown up well so far is goalie Jack Penson, who shut out Tech last Saturday afternoon. His six feet and some odd inches give him an advantage in reach over George Hanford, his alternate, and although he still makes occasional slips, with a little more experience he will be as dependable as Harold Williams, goal-guard of last year's championship eleven.

At fullback along with Ives is Jim Doughty, a capable and experienced player who is playing his fourth year of college soccer having received his training in the Freshman and Jayvee ranks. As Roger Oarsman is out with a twisted ankle, the fullback reserves consist of George Kyte and Jim Davage.

The halfbacks are Bill Edgar, Jimmy Rousmaniere, and Charley d'Autremont, with Bunny Barnes as alternate. Edgar has been mover this year from full to half and the result has been to make him an offensive as well as a defensive weapon. He has found his new position more natural to him. D'Autremont is a sound player with three years of experience behind him, but is handicapped by a lack of speed. Rousmaniere's chief asset is his control over the soccer ball which makes him especially adept at passing. A versatile player, he shifts to the forward line when Barnes comes into the game.

Forwards Shifted

The forwards, minus their star and the team's captain, Howie Mendel, are a comparative weak point. Coach Carr has indulged in a great many shifts in their personnel since the beginning of the year, but the present setup is Mendeler Art Page at left outside, Prenny Willetts at left Inside, Murphy at center, Ernie Staber at right inside, and Gordon Halstead at right outside, with Art Neff as alternate.

Page has a tough job to fill Mendel's shoes but in the Tech game he turned in a capable performance, scoring one of the two goals. Willetts, Staber, and Halstead are in need of more experience. The combination of the Mendel and Murphy should prove potent when Howie gets back into the game.

What About Game?

As to the question whether the team is good enough to beat Dartmouth, the answer should be yes if it plays the sort of ball of the which it is capable and which it did play in streaks during the Tech game. However, any play of the type exhibited in the Tufts game and in most of the practice sessions of the past two weeks will be fatal to the Crimson chances.

Dartmouth does not have an extremely good team. They, like Harvard, have lost to Williams 3 to 2, as well as to the league leaders, Springfield and Wesleyan, by one goal margins, and they have beaten M.I.T. 3 to 1 and Massachusetts State 6 to 1. But one man, Eckhart, is responsible for more than half of their goals, standing second in the New England league standings with eight points to his credit. The game this afternoon is likely to resolve itself into a contest of Eckhart vs. Harvard.