Men Booters Get Off on Right Foot, 1-0

The start of the Harvard men's soccer season was no surprise--the Crimson downed MIT, 1-0, in its season opener Wednesday afternoon at Ohiri Field.

In the first half of the game, and the first 10 to 20 seconds of each Crimson possession, Harvard played like a team intent on living up to its number-one ranking.

The game started out fine--junior David Kramer scored on a pass from frontfield partner and classmate Nick D'Onofrio 18 minutes into the contest to give Harvard the lead.

The beginning of each Harvard possession was impressive--the back-field controlled the ball, motion through the midfield was smooth and most cross passes were well-placed in front of net.

But the follow through was another story.

By the time the final five minutes of the contest rolled around, the booters looked like they had been playing for 190 minutes rather than 90 and were just waiting to finish up and go home.

But finishing up seemed to be their biggest problem.

"We were getting chances, attacking well, holding it well in the back," Captain Robert Bonnie said. "But we were a little ticked off at ourselves at the half because we wanted to score more...The ball bounced around in front of the goal and we couldn't stick it in."

Harvard was on the attack during most of the game, putting in a lot of unproductive time, that is.

"We spent too much time in front of the goal in the first half," Crimson Coach Mike Getman said, "then we rushed it too much in the second half. I wasn't pleased with that."

That's not to say Harvard didn't outclass the Engineers for most of the contest.

The Crimson put on an impressive display of ball-handling skills, with senior Ramy Rajballie in right midfield and junior Roger Chapman at right back controlling the direction and tempo for most of the game.

"We definitely favored the right side," Getman said. "That's going to be natural for us. Ramy's very smooth and he's much more used to the way we play. The team is more accustomed to him."

Rajballie was aided by Chapman, who, although absent from the field with an injury last season, slid into the line-up with ease. Chapman was listed at back, but he was just as often seen in the frontfield, contributing to Harvard's attack.

But when the Engineers decided to challenge in the final minutes, the Crimson didn't seem to have the energy--or the motivation--to fight them to the finish.

"We were getting very tired at the end," senior goalkeeper Chad Reilly said. "We were up 1-0 and we were just trying to play out the time. Against a different team, maybe there would have been a bit more of a sense of urgency."

Tomorrow the Crimson will host Columbia in its Ivy opener at Ohiri Field. There will be no relaxing against the perenially-strong Lions.

"[Columbia's] always going to be strong, always going to be up for us," Bonnie said. "The finishing's the key--we just have to stick the ball in the net."

NOTEBOOK: With Harvard's first and only goal of the season, Kramer has extended his dominance of the team scoring leaders list last year into the new season. In 1987, Kramer's first varsity season, he netted 11 goals and tallied two assists for a team-high 24 points.

The Scoop

For the complete scoop on Harvard sports, please turn to section C. Coverage includes previews of all fall teams and stories on Harvard quarterback Tom Yohe and running back Tony Hinz. The section also features an Olympic diary (by Harvard undergraduate and rower Juliet Thompson), a review of Boston sports and a column about the summer sporting life in Richmond, Va.