Booters Outscore Penn: Njoku Nets Three Goals

Three goals by sophomore left wing Charlie Njoku led Harvard's soccer team to a 5-2 win over Penn Saturday.

Harvard scored three in the first period, one in the second and one in the fourth and held the hustling, talented Quakers to two first half tallies.

Njoku netted his hat trick (Harvard's first of the Ivy League season) on three powerful left-footed shots past the helpless Penn goalie. Sophomore center forward Jim Saltonstall, the Crimson's leading scorer, accounted for Harvard's other two goals, bringing his official season total to eight, including four in Ivy competition.

Penn scored its first goal just one minute into the first period, when All-Ivy inside Bob Finney stole the ball deep in Harvard territory from Crimson right half Bob Knapp, moved in front of the net, and beat Harvard goalie Nat Bowditch on a quick shot from twenty-five feet.

Njoku's first came four minutes later as he brought the ball into the center from the left wing, paused momentarily to set up his left foot, and unloaded a blast from thirty feet that slammed into the arms of Penn goalie Pete Humberg and spun him into his own net.

Harvard scored again at 12:00 of the first period as Saltonstall popped in a centering pass from sophomore right wing Akin Adewole. Just thirty seconds later, Njoku got his second on another powerful shot from the left side, this one barely slipping in between the near side post and the diving Penn goalie.

At seven minutes of the second period Penn collected its second and final goal as sophomore inside Bob Dea trapped a cross from the right side and shot cleanly past Bowditch into the lower left corner. Saltonstall picked up his second ten minutes later after a corner kick from Njoku bounded away from the crowd in the Quaker penalty zone. Salty trapped the ball with his back to the goal, whirled immediately to his right and leveled a waist-high, left-footed shot into the open left side of the net.

Njoku scored his third goal and Harvard's last early in the fourth period as another of his left-footed drives from the wing skittered off the legs of the charging Penn goalie and was kicked in accidentally by their right fullback, who was trying to clear it.