Route NCAA or Destination Unknown

ONEONTA, N.Y.--The Harvard men's soccer team is at a crossroads.

The sign on the first path says, "To the NCAA Tournament." The Crimson knows this path well. It has taken the NCAA route for the past two years.

There's no sign in front of the other path--a quiet road with no destination.

After losing to Hartwick, 3-1, here Saturday afternoon, Harvard must decide which path it will take.

If the Crimson wishes to take the NCAA tournament path, it can't afford to lose another game. Beginning Wednesday afternoon against Boston College, every game the Crimson plays is big.

"We have to win games," Captain Robert Bonnie said. "We have to get hot and go on a winning streak. We have to win our regional games and win them by one or two goals."

With the regular season almost halfway over, the Crimson's record stands at 3-2-1. After being the top-ranked team in the nation at the start of the season, Harvard is no longer receiving Top 20 votes. There are problems in Cambridge. And the only way Harvard can solve them is to win.

"It's just a question that we haven't beaten a good team yet," Coach Mike Getman said "Until then, we don't even worry about the national tournament."

What has happened to the Crimson? Why is a team with nine returning starters from last year's Final Four squad--picked by many as the top team in the nation--struggling? Is it the injuries that have plagued Harvard so far this season? The goal-scoring problems? Bad breaks?

The questions linger and the list of remaining games for the Crimson gets shorter. Is it time to worry?

"We're doing nothing and we've done nothing," Getman said.

Were the expectations too high? Can this year's squad find the fire it had last year and start smoking all the way back to the NCAA Tournament?

Everyone has answers. But there's only one cure: winning. The Crimson is now playing a must-win season. One more loss, even one more tie, will hurt.

Harvard could look back to October 5, 1986. Hartwick, then a nationally-ranked team, defeated the Crimson, 3-1. It was Harvard's first loss of the season. A week later, Harvard tied Cornell, 0-0. Its next game was a 1-1 tie against Dartmouth. After a 4-0 shutout of Princeton, Harvard lost, 2-1, to Boston University. The loss dropped Harvard's record to 4-2-3. But the Crimson won its last four games to earn an NCAA bid, and advanced to the Final Four.

There is still time. Harvard has some key games left on its schedule. On October 12, the Crimson faces B.U. in a game that could determine the fate of its post-season chances.

But the questions will remain until the Crimson can reel off some victories. A winning streak will put the Crimson back on Route NCAA. A couple more losses and Harvard will be walking on a quiet road, destination unknown.