Messing Returns to Anchor Defense After Olympic and Pan-Am Contests

Last weekend Harvard goalie Shep Messing was down in Jamaica playing with the United States Olympic team against El Salvador.

At the end of regulation time, the game was scoreless, and after two overtime periods, the score was tied, 1-1. The two teams lined up at midfield to take penalty shots, and on the fifth round Messing pushed a low shot in the corner around the post to give the United States its first Olympic soccer berth.

"A penalty shot should never be missed," Messing explained, "so you have to use psychological tricks. I went out to their player and gave him a friendly slap. I guess he was pretty shook up."

Messing survived a year's worth of Olympic qualifications before being named the starting goalie. At the Pan-American games in Call, Colombia this past summer, the United States finished fifth out of sixteen teams and Messing was named the tournament's outstanding goalie. He held first-place Argentina to only one goal.

But Now

But now Messing's interests are centered on the upcoming Harvard season. "I expect this team to go to the national finals. We know we have the talent, but attitude and team work are more important, and this year we have it," Messing said.

"Harvard has the best college defense I've ever seen," he said, "and, frankly, I don't think we should be scored on. Wilmot is strong, steady, well-skilled and smart at center fullback, and Axten and Scott complement him perfectly at the wing positions. They have more territory to cover under this new formation, and they are the guys who are making it work."

Messing began playing soccer as a sophomore at Wheatley High School on Long Island. "I was just as interested in the other sports I played during high school, but when I went to NYU I began to concentrate on goal-keeping," he said. He was elected to the All-America team as a sophomore in 1968, and after taking a year off, he shared the goal-tending duties with Bill Meyers for Harvard last year.

During his year off, Messing worked at Nassau Community College with Harvard's new assistant coach, Elliot Klein. 'When I heard that the job was open, I told Elliot to apply, and needless to say, I'm really happy that he got it."