Booters Eliminated in NCAA Semis, 2-1

CLEMSON, S.C.--The result wasn't a lot different from that of a few other Harvard men's soccer games this season. Like UConn, or Hartwick, or Yale.

Until the penalty kicks.

The Crimson finished regulation and two 10-minute overtimes of its NCAA semifinal match with San Diego St. tied at 1-1. It could have been Harvard's fourth tie of the season, but tournament games have to have a winner.

And seven was San Diego St.'s lucky number here at Riggs Field Saturday. The Aztecs claimed a 2-1 triumph (5-4 in penalty kicks) on penalty kick number seven.

Harvard had its chances to put the game away on kicks four and five, as Derek Mills, Nick Hotchkin and Nick D'Onofrio netted their shots. The Crimson led, 3-2, with only one Aztec penalty kick of the initial five remaining.

But Harvard just couldn't finish it off, as it missed the next two attempts. And when the game went to the seventh kick, Crimson Captain Mark Pepper had a pair of opportunities--Aztec goalie Bryan Finnerty moved too soon, giving Pepper a second chance--but both times Finnerty anticipated in the right direction, blocking Pepper's shots.

"I felt good about taking it," said Pepper, who had played in only four previous games this season. "That's as high as the pressure gets in soccer, when you are the second to shoot and the other guy has already made it. If you make it, you still don't win."

The loss was Harvard's first this season, ending a 17-game unbeaten streak. The Crimson finished the year 14-1-3. Clemson--a 4-1 winner over North Carolina in Saturday's other semifinal--defeated San Diego St., 2-0, yesterday to win the national championship.

It looked as though the Crimson was going to put it away in the second overtime. Harvard went on the attack, shooting seconds after play opened and not letting up for the rest of the period.

"We had a couple of good scoring chances right at the end," Harvard senior midfielder Hotchkin said. "We played our best soccer in that second OT. I really thought we were going to score."

Despite being double-teamed, Hotchkin set up several shots with cross-passes out of the left corner.

"[Harvard] went around the wings in the second OT, especially down the left side," San Diego St. Coach Chuck Clegg said. "They were all over us."

San Diego St. didn't have an offensive opportunity in the second OT until 2:01 remained. The Aztecs chal- lenged in the closing minutes, with Crimsonjunior goalie Stephen Hall going one-on-one withPete Klaas and clearing away a shot with his feet.

"Stephen did a superior job," Harvard CoachMike Getman said. "He came up with the save whenwe needed him."

The Crimson's first, and only, goal came 19:40into the first half, when sophomore forward Millsdeflected the ball off an Aztec defender and intothe right corner of the net. The shot followed aSan Diego St. foul, with sophomore midfielder PaulBaverstock lining up for the free kick just inside thebox and touching the ball off to Mills.

"Mills had his best game in a long time,"Hotchkin said. "But as a team, it was just notclicking."

The Crimson carried its 1-0 lead into the final15 minutes of regulation, until Aztec back BruceWalsh headed in a ball that deflected off thecrossbar.

"The big difference was how we played in thesecond half," Hotchkin said. "We seemed to reallycollapse back too much."

But Harvard still kept both possession andcontrol for a major part of the game.

"We played well at the beginning," Clegg said,"but we didn't score two goals early. We didn'tpressure."

Harvard allowed San Diego St. to control playfor the first 10 minutes, a move that provedcritical for the Crimson.

"[San Diego St.] is known for starting fast,shooting a goal, and keeping that lead." Peppersaid. "We are known for starting slow and pickingup momentum. That was a factor in the quality ofplay."AP PhotoHarvard's NICK HOTCHKIN (right) is tackledby San Diego St.'s KEN TAYLOR in the Aztec's 2-1(5-4 in penalty kicks) victory over the Crimson inSaturday's semifinal contest in Clemson, S.C.