Walter Diaz Tallies a Pair As Booters Topple Tufts, 3-1

Two goals by Walter Diaz and two assists in one minute by Mauro Keller-Sarmiento brought the Harvard soccer team back from a 1-0 deficit at Soldiers Field yesterday, leading the booters to a 3-1 victory over Tufts.

The first half of the contest looked like a rerun of most of the booters' season, outplaying a weak Tufts team yet failing to score. Harvard controlled the ball and completed its passes but could not seem to move it up the field effectively or get off any shots.

Hog

Tufts wasn't even passing the ball. Its only threats came on long kicks from mid-field or beyond up to forward Majid Mahrez, the pride of Oran, Algeria. Mahrez did a lot of fancy dribbling, but he could not get his shots off.

In fact the entire Tufts squad got off only one shot in each half, but it made the one in the first half count. At 26:50, forward Matt Troxell's shot rebounded off the Harvard defense out to Mahrez, who rammed it home for the score.

The Crimson appeared to lose its concentration at this point. The Tufts booters began to advance the ball into Harvard territory more often but still could not capitalize.

Five minutes of the second half elapsed before Harvard ventured into the Tufts penalty area. With 13:35 gone, lightning finally struck. Keller-Sarmiento cut past one defender down the left wing, turned up inside away from another, and sent a pass toward Diaz in the center, Diaz leaped and applied a sliding header to the ball, directing it into the right side of the goal.

Exactly one minute later, Keller-Sarmiento copied his own move and sent a high cross to the foot of fellow native South American Mike Mogollon, who blasted it by Tufts netminder Harry Miller to put the Crimson out in front, 2-1.

Harvard got a break a few minutes later when Mahrez lost a goal because of an off-sides penalty during a confused scene in front of the nets.

Darkness and cold began to set in as Harvard held its lead. With three minutes remaining and Harvard goalie Peter Walsh getting frostbite from inactivity, Diaz struck again. After receiving a pass from John Duggan, he maneuvered to the center of the penalty box and blistered one into the nets to account for the final margin.

This was a game in which the booters matched their season high for goals scored despite the sluggish first half. "We were sleeping out there at first," Diaz said afterward. "It took a goal to get us going."

It was also a game the Crimson could not afford to lose, if only for reasons of pride. The Tufts squad's loss dropped its record to a meager 1-8-2, while Harvard's improved to 3-8-1.