Soccer Team Beats Columbia In Ivy Opener, 1-0

NEW YORK CITY--Displaying their usual disciplined and aggressive play, the Harvard soccer team defeated Columbia 1-0 in the Ivy League opener last Saturday.

Though they did not come up with more goals, they created opportunities that were more dangerous and numerous than before.

Shuffle Success

It seems that the latest shuffle coach George Ford made in the search for a scoring touch will be here to stay. Dave Acorn, who was switched to center-forward from the halfback slot, had an excellent game creating repeated opportunities and assisting on the score.

The score came with 5:30 remaining in the first half after continuous Crimson pressure. Captain Steve Mead, who was switched to halfback from fullback, made a pass from the midfield to junior halfback Steve Hines, who passed it in a picture give-and-go play to Dave Acorn. Acorn, playing at the top of the penalty area, passed to Hines who sped past Columbia defenders.

He shot it past the lone Lion goalie and gave the lead to the Crimson.

Acorn Shot

Two minutes had barely passed when Acorn again created an opportunity for himself and took a shot from 20 yards which was blocked by Kostas Triantis, the Columbia goalie.

At the beginning of the second half the booters came on strong and after two more missed opportunities--and 10 minutes of play--Acorn fed Lyman Bullard with a nice pass. Bullard took a hard ground shot which missed the goal post by about a yard to the end of the game. The Crimson peppered the goal but never managed to increase the margin.

Goalie A Gem

The almost toothless Lions created some opportunities which allowed Ben Bryan to demonstrate his goaltending skills. The goalie position which was considered initially a weakpoint has now been solidified through Bryan's effort and Ford's advice and continuous attention.

Bryan gave Crimson fans a show of fine goaltending with diving save to the corner with 28 minutes remaining in the second half. Bryan blocked the sizzling ground shot and recovered in time to punch out a second shot which came in high and in the middle of the goal.

Ford praised Acorn, Bryan, and Jeff Hargadon who started at fullback for the first time this season, for the best individual performances of the game.

Columbia coach John Renie said that the Crimson has a "decent team, with no weakspots." He added that they are a team that will not beat themselves and praised their toughness and aggressiveness-- especially in pursuing head balls.

Apparently Harvard's conditioning is also paying off. Play was stopped more than four times for treatment of minor injuries from collisions. Columbia players, however, were the only victims throughout the game.

Harvard's team, molded together by Ford's skillful coaching, is a cohesive unit now sporting a 2-1 overall record. The contest against soccer powerhouse UConn, however, is coming Wednesday at UConn.