Third-Seeded Booters Ready to Go

The Game, for the Harvard women's soccer team, begins Sunday afternoon at. 2 p.m.

While much of the Harvard community descends on gray New Haven to watch the gridders tackle Yale Saturday afternoon in the Ivy League's idea of a fall classic, the booters will be a few hundred miles further south, competing in the firstever AIAW Women's Soccer National Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Representing the Eastern Region, undoubtedly the nation's most competitive conference, the third-seeded Crimson has a strong chance at advancing to and, yes, winning Sunday's championship final.

"We know that there's no team in this tournament that we can't beat," says coach Bob Scalise. Yet, whether Harvard actually beats the best of the Harvard acually beats the best of the nation's women's soccer teams this weekend is another issue.

The booters represent a unique combination of talent, experience and intensity that has earned them a 15-1 season ledger and the third spot in this week's national rankings. Among the victories, the 4-3 overtime thrashing of Brown for the Ivy League crown and the 2-1 overtime silencing of UConn for the Eastern championship have set the Crimson apart from the other Eastern competitors.

"Having played in the Ivies and the Easterns will be a big advantage for us," Scalise adds. "There's a difference playing under tournament conditions. We've been in the high pressure setting before and we know what it takes to win."

Whatever the label, be it confidence, the drive to win, composure, or just plain guts, Harvard has it and has demonstrated it by playing well and winning the big game all season long.

With the likes of undefeated and top-seeded North Carolina (UNC) and Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) as probable opponents in the finals and semi-finals, the booters can expect the stiffest competition under the toughest conditions (three tight games in three days) of the year.

UNC boasts 20 victories (including a 2-0 blanking of fifth-seeded UConn) without a loss and has outscored its opposition, 157-8, while UMSL counters with 15 consecutive victories (including a 2-1 triumph over seventh-seeded Cincinnati) during which the Riverwomen outscored their adversaries, 92-6.

Whenever non-Eastern region squads spout mind-boggling statistics, the low quality of their competition must be remembered. At last year's seven-team National Invitational Tournament, Eastern champion Cortland State took first-place honors with an easy 5-1 triumph over UCLA in the finals.

Harvard, the other East representative, finished third, sandwiching two-goal victories over Northern Colorado and Carolina around a semi-final loss to eventual champion Cortland. This year's tournament committee acknowledged general Eastern soccer superiority by granting two of the three at-large bids (regional tourney winners occupy nine of the 12 berths) to Eastern powerhouses--UConn and eighth-seeded UMass.

Save It For Last

By virtue of the seeding, the Crimson would not have to play UNC, UConn, or UMass, perhaps the three strongest teams at the tourney, until the finals. The booters will face the winner of the Colorado College-Central Florida match in tomorrow's quarterfinal, and then will probably meet the unknown quantity UMSL in the semis.

Assuming UConn and UMass win their first-around matches, the Huskies will kickoff against the fourth-seeded Oregon while the Minutemen must tackle the Tar Heels. Regardless of who wins those matches, the ensuing semi-final should be a close physical battle which may take its toll on the victor.

Endurance and injuries may prove the decisive factors in this tight tourney. After two games in two days at the Easterns, Harvard had suffered two major casualties and could not have played a third game on the same competitive level. Netminder Janet Judge, who resembled a force-field against UConn despite a broken finger sustained in the semis, will start tomorrow with her fingers wrapped in foam rubber. "There's no way I wasn't going to play," says Judge.

Ivy League MVP Jenny Greeley, who pulled her hamstring against the Huskies, sat out Friday's Yale game and is ready to go at midfield. No such luck for fullback Ellen Jakovic, who suffered a severe groin pull in the Ivies and still has trouble running. She may see spot action on Saturday or Sunday.

To fill the gap on the backline, Scalise will move Laura Mayer from midfield to full back and platoon Jenny Rayport and Merry Ann Moore in Mayer's spot. The arrangement worked successfully at the Easterns with the rest of the midfield--Greeley, Cat Ferrante, and Inga Larson, with help from back striker Alicia Carrillo--performing superlatively.

The Crimson bench, bolstered by J.V. striker Louy Meachem, turned in a strong game against Yale and should fill in adequately if needed. If Judge should reinjure her finger, reserve goalie Barb Mahon, who led the booters to the Ivy crown three years ago, constitutes a starter-caliber replacement.

The Crimson's biggest asset remains its ability to create opportunities and to capitalize on them. Whomever Harvard plays, the contests will surely be close and the victor will probably be the squad which gets the breaks. And in that case, the booters stand in good stead.

"Harvard's a tournament team. With their backs against the wall, they come through," says UMass coach Ken Banda. "They may not have all the best players, but their players compete for every last minute, and those are the players who win games."

"When the chips were down, whether at the Ivies, against UMass [when Harvard scored two goals in the last ten minutes to come from behind and defeat the Minutemen, 2-1, in the Eastern semi-finals], of against UConn, we've been able to come through," adds Scalise. "We make things happen."

If the Crimson can stay close to its opponents during this weekend's matches, look for a brand new trophy at the Varsity Club on Monday.