Battle in House Soccer Undecided

Halfway through the House soccer season, a tight race for the championship come certain. With upsets cropping up each week to plague analysts, no team, or even group of teams, looks clearly superior to the rest of the league.

Eliot, Lowell, and Kirkland are tied for first place.

On the basis of early season performances, it is virtually impossible to pick a winner from the three teams. Eliot has beaten Lowell, which defeated Kirkland; both Kirkland and Lowell have dumped Winthrop, which predictably knocked off Eliot in a defensive duel, 1-0.

With the exceptions of Dudley and Quincy, destined to battle for the cellar, all seven other teams are at least cautiously optimistic about their chances for ultimate victory. Captain and goalie Steve Simpson of Dunster, mired in seventh place, predicted, "I don't see us losing another game all year."

Last week saw the front-runners vicarious in all the games they played. After a shaky start, Lowell's defense finally won and shut out hapless Dudley 8-0, and Winthrop 1-0. Kirkland stomped over Winthrop 3-2, and edged Dunster 2-0. Adams ran over Quincy 4-1, and Eliot stymied Leverett 2-0.

Eliot captain Jim Shelton calmly remarked, "If we can get one or two goals each game, well win." But that could be a pretty tall order for a team that has scored only four times in four games.

However, the defense is experienced, poised, and coordinated. The fullbacks rarely fail to clear a loose ball. Led by goalie Sandy Maisel, the defense has given up only one goal in four games, in the 1-9 loss to Winthrop. Only three starters were available for that game.

Kirkland features the second highest-scoring unit in the league, with 12 goals in four games. Center forward Billy Edgar with six goals and right wing Nick King one of a host of talented sophomores, lead a fast and deadly front line.

The defense, especially new goalie Barry Goldstein, has improved steadily, and by the end of the season, Kirkland could be the team to beat in the new four team playoff.

Lowell's powerful but inconsistent offense has scored 13 goals. However, sight came against last-place Dudley, and Lowell was shut out by Eliot. The scoring unit is spearheaded by two sophomores, center-forward Henry Fields, and center-halfback Peter Johnson, the team's high scorers.

Lowell's major assets, though, are a steady set of halfbacks led by Charley Martin and a quickly maturing defense. If the strong, but young offense can settle down by the end of the year, Eliot and Kirkland could be in rough straits.

Fourth-place Adams is a mystery at this point since they have not yet encountered either Eliot or Kirkland. They nipped punchless Dunster and walloped inept Quincy, but were shut out by Leverett 1-0.

The team is young but battle-tested, paced by four juniors including center-half Doug Adams and right-halfback Lincoln Platt. As they used to say in Brooklyn, "Walt 'til next year!"

Leverett has squeaked out two 1-0 victories over Adams and Quincy. Goalie Bob Waterboro has yielded only two goals and left-inside Peter Gagarin has booted both of Leverett's goals. Continuous hustle and a quick, alert, and coordinated sophomore halfback unit led by Andy Powell distinguish an otherwise mediocre squad.

Winthrop emerged from a traumatic early season schedule in fair condition. Hampered by an erratic offense, they lost to both Kirkland and Lowell by one goal, and shut out Eliot in the upset of the year.

The offense clicked against Adams but the defense broke down and three goals dribbled in for a disappointing tie. However, with pushovers as opponents in three of the last four games and some steadiness, Winthrop could be the league's dark horse.

Two goals against Quincy, the league's doormat, in three games attest that Dunster lacks something. According to captain Steve Simpson it isn't teamwork, since the team has no individual stars, or a strong defense, since Dunster has been scored upon only twice. However, unless Dunster can demonstrate some offensive punch, Simpson's optimism will be little more than empty boasting.

Uninspired Dudley and inexperienced Quincy serve as morale-boosters for the other seven teams in an improved, more efficiently run league. Hindered by a lack of practice, Quincy's major hope for the future is sophomore right-halfback Mike Knapp, brother of last year's varsity standout, Rhodes Scholar Rob Knapp. Standings Team  Won  Lost  Tied  Points Eliot  3  1  0  6 Kirkland  3  1  0  6 Lowell  3  1  0  6 Adams  2  1  1  5 Leverett  2  1  0  4 Winthrop  1  2  1  3 Dunster  1  2  0  2 Dudley  0  2  0  2 Quincy  0  4  0  0