Crimson v. Bruins in Soccer and Football...

Harvard's soccer team took a crack at the defending Ivy champs Saturday, but lost, 2-1, allowing Brown to extend its Ivy winning streak to 12 consecutive victories. The Crimson booters' record is now 7-3-1 overall, and 5-1 in the Ivies.

The Crimson, however, is virtually guaranteed a second-place finish in the Ivies, completing its first season under newcomer George Ford.

Harvard played some of the finest soccer it has played in recent years in the first 40 minutes of the game. Ford's players responded to Bruin attacks with their trademark fastbreak and continuously blunted Brown's offensive efforts.

During those opening 40 minutes, the Crimson threatened the Brown goalie, Mike Hampden, with four shots and 3 corner kicks.

One of them, coming with 12 minutes in the first half, hit pay dirt. Lyman Bullard's corner kick set up Harvard's sole tally. The ball ended its flight close to the right side of the goal, where, in the midst of the melee, Crimson forward Art Faden booted it in to give the homestanding booters the lead.

Later in the half Bullard broke away from the defense and sped alone toward the Bruin goalie. The Brown goaltender came out to block the shot. Bullard fired the ball hard, but Hampden blocked the shot, forcing it out, and giving Harvard a corner kick. Bullard's kick had been so hard, play was stopped so that Hampden could recover from the cannonball he had blocked.

The Harvard defense, aided by its halfbacks and wings, continued to blunt Brown attempts. Time after time Harvard back Ralph Booth blocked shots just as the Bruin forwards launched them.

In the last five minutes of the first half, however, something snapped--Brown scored two goals within two minutes.

The first goal came at 42 minutes off the foot of Brown sophomore standout Fred Pereira. Pereira took a cross-pass from his wing on the right side of the penalty area and shot it into the left corner of the goal. The small crowd of Harvard defensemen that had gathered around the wing had thus been out-flanked.

In two minutes Brown brought the ball downfield again and Pereira trapped another pass. In what was the prettiest goal of the game, the Brown striker trapped the ball, settled it, turned and shot it into the opposite corner, all in one motion.

The half found Harvard behind by a 2-1 score that stood stubbornly immovable on the scoreboard for the duration.

In the second half, playing against the wind, Harvard managed to get off only one shot on the Brown goal. Brown controlled the ball and peppered the Crimson goal, though without success. The Bruins took 23 shots for the entire game, compared to five for the Crimson.

While Crimson goaltender Ben Bryan foiled 11 Brown attempts to score in the second half, Brown fullback Steve Ralbovski, easily the smoothest player on the field, defused all of the Crimson's offensive threats.

Harvard went on to defeat at the hands of a team that had no real weak points. Brown demonstrated excellence in the Frazier-Pereira combination, in ball control and in its defense, anchored by Hampden and Ralbovsky.

Many Harvard players--Leroy Thompson, Art Faden, Ralph Booth, Ben Bryan and Geoff Hargadon--turned in especially outstanding games. Still, Brown's halfbacks dominated the midfield and effectively controlled the pace of the game.

Looking to the upcoming NCAA district tournnament game next Wednesday at Providence against Brown, Bullard said he feels more confident now. "Now at least we know that we can stay on the same field as they, and know that they are within our range."