Soccer Varsity Defeats Underdog Eli Team, 1-0

It seems inconceivable that there has ever been a more exciting Harvard-Yale soccer game than the one played yesterday. The Crimson, outplayed for most of the first half, rallied for one vitally important score in the last fifteen seconds of the third period, and then held on through the final quarter to win, 1 to 0.

The victory gives the varsity a 10-2-1 record for the season, its best year since 1955. It still has a chance for the Ivy League title if Penn can beat Cornell on Thanksgiving. The Elis finished sixth in the League.

Roger Tuckerman, the varsity's center forward and one of the two Crimson seniors playing their last game, made the lone score of the game on a pass from Marsh McCall, the varsity's left halfback. It is completely fitting that Tuckerman scored this goal for he was the Crimson's offensive star all season long, tallying 13 times in 13 games.

A strong southwest wind made playing conditions almost impossible as the team against the gale invariably had to go on the defensive. Several times, a player would get a good kick off into the wind, only to watch it come to a dead stop in mid air and fall about ten feet from where it was kicked.

Tom Bagnoli, who played well for the varsity all year, turned in one of his finest performances of the season. With only an average goalie in the nets today, the Crimson would have lost this game by at least two goals. In the fourth period, Bagnoli made three of four extraordinary saves on Yale cornerkicks that kept the varsity in the game.

Yale has a very good soccer team and it is only fair to say that by all rights it should have won today. Its fatal deficiency was its forwards' failure to get off really good shots in front of the Crimson nets. On many occasions, Yale would have good scoring opportunities and hesitate just long enough to allow the varsity fullbacks to break up the attack. When the Elis did get a good shot off, Bagnoli would make a fantastic save and the same procedure would start all over again.

The varsity offense found itself sty- mied when it faced the wind, as the Crimson halfbacks could not clear the ball up to them. With the wind, the varsity forwards were not passing as well as they have in the last two games, and as a result, had about half as many shots as Yale did.

The Elis, against the wind in the first period, still managed to get the jump and dominate a good part of the play. The Eli halfbacks, led by Captain Neil Van Horn, consistently beat their Crimson counterparts to the ball and set up their forwards very well.

With the beginning of the second quarter, Yale was with the wind and increased the pressure on the varsity goal. Tim Morgan and Lanny Keyes, the two Crimson fullbacks who played particularly well, managed to deal with most of the threats, but near the end of the period, Bagnoli had to make some of his best saves to keep the game scoreless.

By the middle of the third period, play was evening up a bit, but the Elis were still getting most of the scoring chances. Then, with less than a minute to go in the quarter, McCall got the ball along the left sideline, and sent a hard shot on the ground toward the Eli nets. Yale goalie John Parkhurst kneeled down to pick up the bounding ball, but at the last possible second, Tuckerman broke in front of the goal and tipped the ball in for the score.

For the rest of the game, Yale sent down one attack after another only to see each turned back by the Crimson defense.

The varsity has played many better games this year, but the fact is that it has never won a more important one. All varsity Coach Bruce Munro and his team can do now is wait for Thanksgiving and rejoice in their excellent season