A First-Rate Last Choice

Harvard goalie Stephen Hall didn't exactly choose to spend his soccer career in the net.

If he had been given a choice, maybe he would be playing center forward and scoring tons of goals. Or right wing and showing off some flashy passes.

But when Hall was an 11-year old, he was just a bit chubby. And the fat kid always got stuck in goal.

"I wanted to play, and that was the only position they would let me," says Hall, who is now a sleek 175 pounds. "I was the kid that was always picked last in P.E."

Hall started his soccer career on a miniature seven-man squad in his hometown of Liverpool, England. The team played on a little field, with a little ball, into little nets.

And Hall was the little fat kid protecting the goal.

Hall got rid of the extra pounds, but he didn't shed his position. He went on to become England's top school-boy goaltender.

And no one's making him last pick any longer.

Last month, Hall was named the first-team All-Ivy goalie. He didn't lead the league statistically--he wasn't even in the top three.

But the Ivy coaches recognized that numbers can't measure the skill Hall brings to his position. He has speed, razor-sharp reflexes and what Brown Coach Cliff Stevenson calls "one hell of a punt." His long goal kicks trigger the quick Crimson attack.

Hall also has a tremendous sense of the game. He knows when to cover the box, and when to come out and challenge on cross passes and cornerkicks. Opponents rarely find an open-goal opportunity.

UConn's Chris Reif thought he had Hall beat in Harvard's NCAA quarterfinal win over the Huskies. Reif broke away from his defenders with seven seconds remaining in regulation and sent a shot flying at the left corner of net. Hall's diving, one-fisted save kept the fans and the press talking all through overtime.

It was one moment of glamour in a season full of laudable performances.

But Hall doesn't mind. He's a private person, shying away from the fans that flock Ohiri Field after every game. The attention showered on him when he joined the Harvard program was more of a burden than a boost.

Heralded as a top foreign recruit, Hall had trouble getting NCAA sanction to play American college soccer. The national committee initially ruled him ineligible on account of his brief stint with a professional club in England. When Hall proved he had never been paid to play, the restriction was reduced to a six-game ban.

The eligibility hassle was not Hall's only problem freshman year. A new country, a new soccer program and the American college environment combined to force a major adjustment for Hall.

"Freshman year was horrible on and off the field," Hall says. "I had no idea what to expect. I was sort of naive."

Hall switched from playing 180 soccer games a year to seeing action in only two. And he went from the English high school system--where grades are based entirely on a final exam--to stacks of problem sets in Harvard's engineering program.

"It was really frustrating," Hall says. "But there was so much more to do which took my mind off it."

Now Hall's concentrating on his soccer game, and the effort has paid off. He has blanked Harvard's last three opponents, bringing his season shutout total to seven.

The Crimson (14-0-3 overall) swept through the regular season undefeated, garnering an Ivy title and a second straight trip to the Final Four.

With a big help from the little kid picked last at the playground.