Soccer Varsity Plays to 1-1 Tie With Aggressive Amherst Squad

For four quarters and two overtime periods last Saturday at Amherst, the varsity soccer team and Amherst's Lord Jeffs battled each other into submission. Beset by bad breaks and hampered by the Jeffs' sticky defensive play, the Crimson was relieved, if not satisfied, to emerge with a 1-1 tie.

At times it seemed that only a miracle could save Amherst from defeat, but the miracle always materialized. Crimson lineman Larry Ekpebu had two on-target shots knocked down late in the game, neither of them by the Amherst goalie. As time was running out in the third quarter, Ekpebu, playing wing, sent a hard cross toward the Lord Jeff nets. The ball hit defender Walter Barnette and seemed to be headed straight for the goal, but it ticked the post just hard enough to be deflected safely away.

Then, with time running out in the second overtime, a cross from the Crimson's left wing Tadgh Sweeney pulled goalie Robin Parkman far out of position. Ekpebu, at center forward, got off a low, fast shot toward the empty nets, but Amherst fullback Drew Mallory sank to his knees in front of the goal and blocked the ball with his chest. By the time varsity inside Bruce Johnstone could follow up Ekpebu's shot, Parkman was in position to block the attempt.

Crimson sophomore Charlie David, filling in for Tim Morgan at fullback, made a few mistakes, but survived his fiery baptism remarkably well. Goalie Tom Bagnoli was sensational. Under heavy attack a good part of the time, he made several acrobatic stops, and saved the game for the Crimson in the first overtime by tipping a high, hard shot by Amherst's Pieter Van der Toorn over the crossbar.

Amherst abandoned its familiar long-passing game, depending on the dribbling and shooting of speedy wings Roger Pennington and Charlie Clark for most of its offense. Pennington gave the Lord Jeffs their lone goal with 7:50 gone in the first period, tallying on a rebound.

After a scoreless second quarter, the varsity tied the count at 8:35 of the third period on a perfect shot from 10 yards away by inside John Hedreen. Soon after, coach Bruce Munro sent Ekpebu to wing in place of Sweeney and put Keith Lowe at center. With Ekpebu, Sweeney, and Lowe shifting often, the varsity offense picked up noticeably.