The Soccer Outlook

As a foggy mist wafted above the rim of a punch bowl at a wild Eliot House party Saturday night, a member of the men's soccer team accosted me.

"Hey," the irate booter called across the dance floor, "who wrote that thing in the extra today, that 'Soccer Loses Again' thing?"

Before I could give a reasonable answer, I received further instructions.

"You just tell whoever wrote it that his ass is grass if he runs into me."

That spirit, if nothing else, is good cause to hold off for quite a while on writing the obituary of the 1978 Harvard soccer team.

You see, although the Crimson is winless at 0-2 (a pair of late-game losses to MIT and Columbia), the squad looks as strong as any in the four years coach George Ford has been here.

And today's 3 p.m. contest at Wesleyan against a rough-and-tumble Cardinal squad (Ford: "They're not just tough, they're rude") will give the Crimson a chance to avoid another "Soccer Loses Again" headline.

The problem, stated simply, has been this: while Harvard has played pretty, textbook soccer up and down the field, the offense has failed to get its act together on key scoring chances, while the solid defense has let a couple of weird goals slip by in unsettled situations.

"I can't get mad," Ford said last night. "The team has played some very attractive soccer."

"The only problem has been our inability to put the ball in the net," the Briton continued. "We've had ample opportunities, and I'm just hoping that Walter and Lee will pick up the spark that they had last year."

Walter and Lee as in Diaz and Nelson, as in six and 12 goals respectively last year, as in nothing much so far this year.

Nelson is a junior (senior eligibility) with dancing feet, a crafty touch on the soccer field, and an innate knack for the goal. Diaz, a sophomore, has a compact, powerful build and a quick, hard shot to match.

Against MIT, neither really got their rhythm together on the Engineers' small field, and the entire offensive line seemed to be off a half-beat.

Against Columbia Saturday, Nelson found himself contained for 90 minutes by a marking fullback. And Diaz--although he did punch in one short-range goal--still failed to work the cobra-like strikes he executed so well last fall.

On defense, goalkeeper Billy "B-squared" Blood has made several spectacular saves backing up a web-like Crimson back line. It has yet to be seen, however, whether Blood et al can maintain control in the weird, unsettled situations in front of net that have proved fatal thus far.

There is a lot of talent on this team -- among many strengths that can be cited, freshmen Mauro Keller Sarmiento and Peter Sergienko have been pleasant surprises, and two more freshmen are expected to play today.

And if the talent Harvard has on paper comes through on the field, with the first opportunity today, there'll be lots to celebrate in Dillon Field House this fall.

And then maybe I can have some peace of mind at Saturday night parties.