Booters Shoot Minutemen, 2-1

The Harvard men's soccer team is good.

How good? Really good.

So good that it's won eight straight contests. So, good, that of the top 10 teams in the nation, it is the only undefeated team. So good that it's ranked fifth in the nation.

So good that it can afford to play real bad. It doesn't matter--the team finds a way to win.

Yesterday in Amherst, the really good Crimson team played a not-so-great game of soccer. But Harvard still came home with a 2-1 win over UMass.

"We're a good enough team that when we have a bad performance we still win," Harvard Coach Mike Getman said.

A bumpy field, a bouncy ball, several sets of "bus legs" and an unseasonably hot day combined to slow down the usually explosive Crimson (11-0-2).

"We were sluggish," junior back Louis Lyons said. "We were misplaying balls, not making sharp passes."

The Minutemen jumped out to an early 1-0 without having to take a shot. UMass took a free kick deep on the left side which caused a scramble in front of the Harvard goal. In the confusion, the ball deflected off a Crimson player and into the net.

"That goal was not a goal," Getman said. "There was a clear foul against Stephen Hall as he tried to play the ball. But for whatever reason, [the official] decided to count it."

"Stephen got decked," sophomore forward David Kramer said.

Goal or no goal, it was early in the game, and the Crimson trailed, 1-0.

But the booters have been there before. Often.

"It's been a typical situation," Lyons admitted.

And Harvard responded in its usual fashion--it battled back.

While the Minutemen took their 1-0 advantage as an opportunity to settle back and play defense, the Crimson launched an attack.

With three minutes remaining in the opening period, senior forward Ken Rouff flicked the ball to Kramer, who slipped it in past the UMass goaltender. The goal sent the Crimson into halftime with a 1-1 deadlock.

"After [UMass] scored the goal, they ceased the attack," Lyons said. "They didn't challenge us in the back, they just clogged up in the middle."

The midfield traffic jam gave the Crimson problems moving the ball up the field, but midway through the second half, an F.J. Gould pass gave Lyons the green light to break the tie. Lyons beat his UMass defender to the pass, dribbled the ball up the field and fired the game-winning goal into the right corner of net.

Lyons, who started in his usual backfield position, was subbing in the left midfield for senior Nick Hotchkin. Hotchkin came out midway through the first half after being roughed up on a play.

"Both the offense and defense were a little stuggish," Getman said. "But we did have new people play. It's difficult to adjust when you have new players around you."

A bright spot in the Crimson performance was the return of freshman backfielder Nick Gates, who had been on the injured list for several weeks. Also returning for the bruised and battered backfield was junior Gian D'Ornellas.

"UMass is a decent team," Getman said. "That and the poor conditions made it a tough game."

Both injury problems and the dehydrating effects of the humidity forced Getman to sub more often.

"There was a lot of subbing," Lyons said. "We didn't have it, we were listless."

But even bad conditions couldn't prevent good results for the Crimson.

"We got the job done, and that's what counts," Kramer said.

THE NOTEBOOK:Kramer continues to head up the Crimson scoring list, with yesterday's tally pushing his season point total to 20...UMass was playing its final home contest of the season....Harvard hosts Penn at Ohiri Field Saturday for its final game before NCAA tourney bids are announced. The tournament seedings will be decided Sunday, with the Crimson the clear favorite for the number-one spot in the New England region.