Booters Slide Into NCAA Quarters

STORRS, Conn.--It was a play the Harvard men's soccer team had used often.

Senior midfielder Nick Hotchkin races the ball up the line to the left corner, controls, and sends a cross pass to the open man in front of the net.

But the play had been conspicuously absent from yesterday's NCAA New England Region Championship against the University of Connecticut here. Absent, that is, until five minutes left in overtime.

At that juncture, Hotchkin raced down the line and sent his familiar pass from the left corner to about 10 yards in front of goal. Sophomore forward Derek Mills stepped over the ball, and David Kramer sent it flying into net to put the Crimson ahead, 1-0. UConn never recovered.

"It was a counter-attack," senior back Chris Reif said. "Hotchkin beat the ball down and made a great move in the corner."

"It was a smart play on [Mills'] part," Kramer said. "The defense just froze up." Huskie goalie Tom Foley barely the brushed the ball as it went to his left and into goal.

The win put Harvard (13-0-2 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. The Crimson will face the winner of next weekend's Hartwick-Adelphi New York Regional Championship on November 29.

If it wasn't for the stellar showing of Crimson goalie Stephen Hall, Harvard would never have made it to the overtime period. The junior netminder made six fantastic saves--including a key block with only seven seconds remaining in regulation.

On that play, Reif broke away from the Crimson defenders to send a 20-yard swing shot at net. Hall dove left and cleared the ball away with one hand to send the game into overtime.

"[Hall's save] was the turning point," freshman sweeper Nick Gates said. "That save was world-class. It was the best save I've ever seen in college soccer."

Harvard spent the early part of the game adjusting its speed to the slippery conditions of the field. Both mud and taped ribs slowed Hotchkin's usually explosive style, but junior Ramy Rajballie picked up the slack from his position at right midfield.

"We've got two players that are very quick on the outside--Hotchkin and Rajballie," Harvard Coach Mike Getman said. "Most of the season it's been Nick who's effective on the side, but today was Ramy's right from the start. He had his engines running."

Hotchkin was also the victim of tight marking by the Huskie defenders, who focused most of their efforts on closing off Mills and the senior midfielder.

"We had two guys tracking [Hotchkin] on the [winning] play," UConn Coach Joe Morrone said. "He had great stamina at that point. We did a great job on Mills, shutting him down. They just have the ability to capitalize on mistakes and they have the individual talent to make the game go their way."

Morrone substituted heavily throughout the game, while Getman stuck mainly with his starters.

"Substituting has been Connecticut's style" Getman said. "I was definitely an advantage for them, keeping the players fresh. We knew it was going to be that way."

The two sides had lots of chances. With 31:41 left in the second half, Crimson midfielder Paul Baverstock sent a shot off the inside of the left post. Fifteen minutes later, Huskie midfielder Steve Rammell shot one barely wide to the right.

UConn's top talent--All-America forward Dan Donigan--was less than threatening during most of the contest. Donigan, who was slowed by a bout with the flu, settled back in the midfield for most of the first period before moving on the attack.

Donigan's biggest challenge came on a scoring drive midway through the third period, but senior back Andy Dale ran the ball off in the box.

THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson outshot the Huskies, 20-18...When Harvard and UConn last met in late September, the two teams battled to a 0-0 tie...Donigan, the Huskie leading scorer, took only one shot...Kramer's goal puts him even further out front in the Crimson scoring race. The first-year varsity starter has 11 goals and two assists for 24 points... The game marked Harvard's fifth overtime contest of the season... The Crimson finishes off its regular-season and Ivy slates Saturday when it travels to New Haven, Conn., to face the Yale Elis.