Booters Open Ivy Season Against Lions; Gomez, Meyers Face Individual Battles

Two personal duels perhaps will decide the outcome of this mornings varsity soccer game when the Crimson opens its Ivy League season at 10:30 a.m. against undefeated Columbia on Cumnock Field.

Both Harvard and Columbia enter the match with 4-0 record. The Crimson must rely on good Bill Meyers and center half Solomon Gomez to outplay their Columbia counterparts.

Crimson goalie Meyers has recorded three straight shutouts this season while playing on a heavily bandaged knee. Meyers has been bothered by the injured knee all week and yesterday he reported to the Health Services office to have fluid on the knee drained. If he fails to start today coach Bruce Munro will depend on senior Jun Sawhill to fill the vacancy.

Key to Columbia's success this season is defense Coach Joe Moldar modestly claims to have the best coolie in the Ivy League Considering that Yale's Steve Greenberg was a second team All-American last year the Lions' Dong Watt ranks very high in Moldar's opinions of goalies.

Watt demonstrated the validity of Moldar's praise this season as he shut out the opposite in his first two games. In a 4-1 victory over Princeton last Saturday. Watt played on a swollen ankle and still succeeded in stifling the Tiger for wards.

The second individual battle of the day will be at center field when halfbacks Solomon Gomez and the Lions Len Renery square off Gomez and Renery played together on the same team at Scuffled Academy and it will be their jobs to stop each other.

Gomez could be the crucial factor in the Crimson attack on Watt. Throughout the week in practice. Coach Munro has emphasized short passing situations and through-passes from the halfbacks to the inside forwards rather than scrimmage sessions.

Since right wing Russ Reil has recovered from his pulled muscle, Gomez probably will be shifted back to the center half position and will be called on to trigger the Crimson offensive line. Solomon is one of the best feeders in the nation, Munro said.

Columbia's Renery also will start at center half and is the sparkplug of the Lions' attack Against Princeton Renery made a spectacular assist on Columbia's first goal and later scored on a free kick.

The Lious looked extremely impressive last week in the Princeton game. Columbia's line continually outran the Tigers' defense and dominated moddfield play throughout the game with fast accurate passing. By the fourth quarter Princeton was merely trying to keep the score respectable.