Hoosiers Avalanche Men Booters Behind Snow

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--In the end, it was not the way Harvard soccer Coach Mike Getman had hoped he would return to his alma mater, Indiana.

Here at Bill Armstrong Stadium, where Getman once wore a red-and-white Hoosier uniform, the Crimson found itself snowed in by the defending national champions, 7-2, in front of 1092 spectators.

The blizzard came primarily from standout striker Ken Snow, who won the prestigious Hermann Trophy last season as a sophomore. Snow buried a personal-best four goals in the Harvard net, including the game-winner, and received two of his tallies special delivery from younger brother, Steve.

"[Ken Snow] is a finisher," Getman said. "He's a real alert player, and that's why he's the best player in the country."

In a stadium larger than the Crimson had--or will--see all season, complete with cheerleaders, band, and one of the toughest soccer teams in the nation, Harvard was understandably a little nervous at the start.

But veteran Nick D'Onofrio blasted away the jitters just 3:22 into the game when he headed a beautiful arching corner kick from classmate Derek Mills past Indiana keeper Juergen Sommer for a 1-0 Crimson advantage.

The early confidence-booster, however, didn't hold Harvard (2-2 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) above water for long. By the time Mills pumped in Harvard's second, and last, goal 35 minutes later, the Crimson crew was sinking fast.

The Snow-blowers went into high gear early in the first half, accounting for many of the 12 first-half Hoosier shots that ran Crimson keeper Scott Salisbury ragged.

Steve headed in the tying goal on a Sean Shapert corner kick at 12:43, then Ken swept up a hat trick in a 16-minute span as the game went from a 1-1 battle to a 4-1 barrage.

"Everything was quick and outside the 18 [yard marker]," Salisbury said. "We had never faced something like this before. We are used to giving [opponents] room in front and then containing them."

It was next to impossible to put a lid on Indiana (6-1-1), which shot fast and furious from all over the field.

Mills' goal, by contrast, was slow and sweet. From the moment Mills touched the ball in the Indiana end, the shot was expected, anticipated, but somehow still not stoppable.

With a smooth fake to the left, Mills slid around Indiana defenseman Ken Godat and poured a shot past a sinking Sommer. The goal, which came at the 38:03 mark, left Indiana with a two-goal advantage heading into halftime.

"I thought [Harvard's] front three gave our back some real trouble in the first half," Indiana Coach Jerry Yeagley said, "but, thankfully, things were clicking offensively for us."

And, as Yeagley so aptly put it, "everything slid together smoothly," for his Hoosiers in the second stanza.

Chad Deering pushed the score to 5-1 just 1:07 into the second period and Ken Snow tallied his fourth goal seven minutes later as the Indiana defense closed down the Crimson attack.

"The difference was [the Hoosiers] were taking their shots well--almost all of them were on goal--and they were following everything up," Getman said.

Indeed, Indiana netted four of its goals off rebounds, as Salisbury and late-game replacement Jamie Reilly made the initial saves but just couldn't hold onto the ball.

Salisbury did have a few flashes of brilliance--including back-to-back saves on Dean Kapsalis and Matt Isger shots at the close of the first half--but the game will certainly not help his goals-against average.

"We're a really young team," Salisbury said. "This game is really going to teach us a lot."

THE NOTEBOOK: The Hoosiers closed out the scoring with 11:52 remaining in the game when Kapsalis sent a Rob Carlso rebound past a not-yet-recovered Reilly...D'Onofrio and Mills are now tied atop the Crimson scoring list with seven points apiece...Harvard will face the Stanford Cardinal Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Ohiri Field.