Booters Trounce Bruins, 4-0

Some days we can be a scoring machine, other days it all just falls apart. Jack Correia, a cog in the Crimson machine

Come to think of it, though, the time reference in that statement is all wrong. To understand the Harvard experience against Brown Saturday morning, don't think in terms of days. Think about halves, or even minutes.

Then, the scoreless tie at the end of the first stanza starts to make more sense, and the 4-0 final tally becomes eminently reasonable.

The Crimson defense held on through the first 45 minutes of play, and the occasionally explosive offense turned it on down the stretch to raise the team's season record to 8-4. The squad's Ivy mark stands at 2-3.

Fluid

The problems in the first half were nothing new to the Crimson eleven, never a particularly strong first half offensive team. With the midfield in coach George Ford's 4-3-3 alignment playing hesitantly at best, the action stayed fluid, slipping from one end of the field to the other, as both teams played the long-ball game.

Brown has a reputation as a potent kick and run squad, so while the Harvard midfield pushed up too far into the offensive zone, the fullbacks appeared to sag. This combination created a void in the middle third of the field, and kept the Crimson from securing real control of the action.

The Bruins took advantage of the situation, and consistently threatened in the first 25 minutes of the half. The Harvard back line--regulars Peter Sergienko, John Duggan, and Deniz Perese, plus first-time starter Andreas Keller-Sarmiento, picked up the slack brilliantly, collapsing around the Harvard net and shutting down the Brown threat.

Crimson goalie Ben Erulcar did his part, too. Filling in admirably for injured regular Peter Walsh, he stopped five tough shots in the first several minutes, and came up with a total of seven saves for the day.

With the advent of the second half, the Harvard corps took the field visibly quicker, and mentally a lot more confident. The new attitude took the pressure off the defense, and for the rest of the game the Crimson offense functioned smoothly. All three lines worked together well, and for the first time, Harvard played its own game.

With midfielders Leo Lanzillo, Frank RiCapito et al setting up the plays, the Crimson consistently moved easily down field for the shot.

Fire

The first shot that meant anything came at 25:30 of the second half, when captain Michael Rmith took a pass from midfielder Andy Kronfeld and fired a shot into the lower left corner from 11 yards out.

Following a minor scramble on the left wing, Kronfeld zipped a pass over to Smith, who hesitated briefly before unleashing the shot which made the score 1-0.

The crowd of 200 didn't have to wait long for the next reason to clap their frozen hands, as Lance Ayrault put it in at 27:32. Offensive catalyst Mauro Keller-Sarmiento made a long run down the right sideline and sent a nice cross over the middle to Ayrault, who chipped the sphere in for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Instrumental

Keller-Sarmiento had an instrumental part in the next tally too. He dribbled again down the right sideline, and sent a pass to Ayrault out in front. The Crimson forward then relayed the ball to Lanzillo, who shot the ball up high on the left side for his third goal of the season and a 3-0 Harvard lead.

Correia got in on the act at the 41:44 mark for his second varsity goal. In spite of getting belted on the left wing, Keller-Sarmiento somehow unleashed a spinning pass just out of the reach of Brown goalie Greg Mitko. He recorded his second assist of the day when Correia punched in the fourth Crimson goal from two yards out.

Saturday's 4-0 win was the first time Harvard has beaten a Bruin soccer squad since 1971, and marks Ford's first victory over Brown.