The Papal Bull

The soccer team's 5-2 loss to Penn on Friday night may have been a shock, but in view of the circumstances, it was hardly a surprise. When the second-ranked team in the country is beaten by three goals and outshot, 42-15, it is obvious that quite a few things went wrong.

Before the game Coach Bruce Munro said that playing on Astroturf at night gave Penn a one goal advantage at the outset. Astroturf played a much larger role in the game than Munro predicted, but Harvard's inability to adjust to the unfamiliar surface was a relatively minor consideration.

"It was the turf that killed us," Phil Kydes said after the game. "Your foot grabs on when you step, and your muscles have to work much harder. Several players who went into the game with minor injuries were put out of the game with muscle pulls."

Linemen Out

On the line, Charlie Thomas and Felix Adedeji were out for most the second half. Both of Harvard's starting linkmen, Emanuel Ekama and Norie Harrower, were also hurt by halftime, and fullback Chris Wilmot strained a muscle in his back and didn't play most of the last period, Russ Bell and Phil Kydes were also playing with minor injuries.

Penn outshot Harvard in the first half, 24 to 11, but after Chris Papagianis tied the score with his second goal early in the third period, it looked as if the Crimson had sufficiently acclimated themselves to pull the game out.

The linkmen were setting up the line with short passes, and the superior footwork of the Harvard linemen made them scoring threats everytime they got the ball. Penn was taking more shots, but it looked as if the individual brilliance of Papagianis or Adedeji would make the difference.

Turning Point

The turning point came early in the third period when Adedeji left the game with a pulled hamstring. Penn's All-America forward Stan Startzell scored his second goal soon afterwards, and Harvard was on the defensive from then on.

Aided by the fast bounces off of the Astroturf, Penn maintained a very fast pace of play, and Harvard's short passing game crumbled. While Penn Kept the ball on the ground and completely controlled the midfield, the Harvard backs were forced into long passes which were easily intercepted.

"Panic and Frustration"

"We were hitting the ball long out of panic and frustration," Wilmot said. "Penn is big and strong at the back, and clever at midfield, and they were able to take advantage."

By the fourth quarter it wasn't even a ballgame anymore. Every time a Harvard player got the ball, he was quickly surrounded by two or three defenders. In contrast, Penn ball carriers were rarely challenged before they were well past midfield Harvard was a broken team.

If Harvard meets Penn again this season, it will be in the NCAA semi-finals in Florida. And despite Friday night's debacle, if most of Harvard's stars are physically sound by then, the smart money will still be on the Crimson.