Crimson Booters Tie Yale, 1-1, On Acorn's Last-Minute Goal

Senior co-captain Dave Acorn drilled home a dramatic goal with less than a minute remaining in the game on cold, windblown Business School field Saturday, giving the soccer team a 1-1 tie with Yale and a 2-10-1 record for the season.

"It felt great to finally score in that game," Acorn said yesterday, "but it didn't make up for the whole season."

Acorn's goal capped a strong second-half offensive surge, and beat the Yale goaltender from the right side with a linedrive shot hit off a dead sprint at 44:02.

"Their captain [John Taft] was taking the ball back to the goalkeeper and pushed it by him," Acorn said. "It was a tough angle, but I got just enough of it."

Throughout most of the contest, it looked as if Harvard would not be able to buy a goal, and would have to leave the field with its ninth straight loss and a 2-11 record.

After Eli Joe Mensah scored on an assist from Steve Farago at 1:55 of the first period, the game settled down to fairly evenhanded back-and-forth play--fairly even, that is, until midway through the second half, when the Crimson offense came alive but couldn't put the ball into the net.

Midway through the second period, co-captain Lyman Bullard took the ball along the right side at midfield and started just the kind of well-executed play that hasn't clicked for the Crimson all year.

Bullard knocked the ball crossfield to Lee Nelson, who pushed it down left wing to John Sanacore. Sanacore drilled a long-range shot off the crossbar, and the charging Bullard just missed a header on the rebound.

Just five minutes later, Dave Eaton beat a Yale defender down right wing and lofted a cross in front of the goal for another strong scoring opportunity, but the Elis cleared the ball.

By this point--despite a solid short passing game--the Elis were having trouble moving the ball upfield, and the Harvard pressure continued.

With Bullard leading several charges, the Crimson began swarming around the Yale defense. With about ten minutes remaining, the pressure nearly paid off.

Senior Harold Martin pounced on a loose ball near the 18-yard line and drove an almost certain score goalward.

But the shot deflected off the goalie's arm and bounced off to the right--with Acorn and Bullard waiting in front of the net.

The tie was a relatively painless end to a season that was painful in more ways than one for the Harvard booters. The squad opened its schedule in September with high hopes, despite several nagging injuries. But plagued with the injuries throughout, the team ended the year with an eight-game losing streak through October and early November.

Juggled Lineup

In the opening victory over Columbia, Coach George Ford found himself having to juggle a lineup marred by injuries to Acorn, Dave Eaton, Martin and Bullard (who played nonetheless) and several others. The list of incapacitated players was just as long Saturday, as starters Kevin Jiggetts and Chris Saunders could not play, and both co-captains played on sore legs.

The final statistics leave the Crimson in the Ivy basement, with a 1-5-1 record. Overall, the booters were outscored by their opponents 31-14.

Goalie Fred Herold attributed the weak season to a lack of hard work by the players and the development of a losing attitude after some early losses.

"But," Herold, a junior, added, "next year will be good."