Wilmot Says Defense Is Ready

For the past three years Chris Wilmot has been the backbone of the Harvard soccer team's defense. During that time Harvard has won the New England title three times, and has compiled an overall record of 39 wins and only 3 defeats.

"Chris' greatest asset is his experience," captain Charlie Thomas said at the start of the season. He anticipates where the ball is going before the ball carrier knows himself, and comes out of nowhere to take it away. And yet his style of play is basically conservative--he always is aware of the situation and almost never overcommits himself."

Shep Messing, the goalie for the United States Olympic team, is equally impressed. "I think that Chris is the best defensive player in college soccer, and I've seen some pretty good ones," he said.

In addition to his defensive prowess, Wilmot is also a scoring threat. Three of his six goals this season have come on penalty kicks, and he has scored twice with head shots off of corner kicks.

Wilmot started playing soccer when he was three in Stanmore, England. His first position was goalie, and he played center forward for six years before shifting back to center half.

In the four years that he played for Harrow Weald Grammar, the team had a record of 116-21 and won three district championships. The year before he came to Harvard. Wilmot played center half on the All-England Grammar School team.

Wilmot played sweeper back his first two years with the varsity, but he feels that this year's "diamond" defense will prove to be more effective in the final rounds of the NCAA tournament.

"Its taken us some time to come to grips with this new system, and I have much more confidence than I did at the time of the Penn game. We gave up quite a few foolish goals earlier in the season, but now we understand our assignments much better," Wilmot said.

The principle advantage of the "diamond" defense over man-to-man coverage is its flexibility. If the ball comes down the left side for example, left wingback Rick Scott goes out to meet the play. Wilmot covers the first lineman to come through, and center fullback Brian Fearnett takes the second.

Right wingback Bob Woods moves to the penalty area and is responsible for meeting the play when it comes into the center.

If Scott should be beaten. Fearnett or Wilmot will move out for the ball, and Woods will take the man left open in the center. Scott retreats to the penalty area to take over Woods' assignment. This rotation enables the defense to keep constant pressure on the ball carrier while maintaining its strength in front of the goal.

The defense is given additional depth by the great range of goalie Messing. "Shep is the real sweeper back and the entire penalty area is his domain. He comes out to pick off long through passes, and if the defense is caught square he'll figure in the play." Wilmot said.

The result is a very aggressive defense. "No one keys on his man more than he does on the ball." Wilmot said. "Earlier in the season I tended to baby the defense by hanging back. But now I have the confidence that there will be somebody to take my assignment if I go after the play and get caught out of position."

Another factor is the experience which Fearnett, a sophomore, and Woods, a replacement for Phil Axten, have gained during the course of the season.

"Brain has been improving with each game, and if we played thirty or forty games, he wouldn't be making any mistakes at all by the end of the season. And Bob Woods has become a definite strength on the side," Wilmot said.

One problem which is accentuated by Harvard's 4-2-4 alignment is coordination between the defense and the offense. Wilmot feels that keeping the ball on the ground is the solution.

"Russ Bell is the key to the center and he's in his element when we are working short passes. He is very good at creating plays, and his foot work is excellent. But when the ball is in the air, he's neutralized. And Bahman (Mossavar-Rahmanl) is also much more effective in a short passing game," Wilmot said.

Wilmot feels that Harvard's defense will be the determining factor in Saturday's game against Hartwick. "I'm pretty sure that our attack will come up with a goal or two, so it will depend on whether or not we can hold them. Hartwick's forwards are young, and they may not do as well under all of the pressure," Wilmot said.