A First in the Name of Tradition

The Harvard men's soccer team traveled Wednesday to Haverford to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the nation's first inter-collegiate soccer match. In June, the men's heavyweight crew defeated Yale in the 115th renewal of the oldest intercollegiate athletic competition. Some time in November, the University will reach the not-so-tender age of 345. Ah, to be old--and first; two honored Harvard traditions.

History meant relatively little to the Crimson booters the other day. Their primary concern is the future, and if they were to look behind them, they would find a couple of unsatisfactory seasons peeking over their shoulders. So when they skeeted past Haverford, 3-2, in an exhibition contest, they opened their 1980 slate on an auspicious note.

Haverford did not exactly furnish the Crimson with its most formidable opposition of the fall. The season begins for real in less than a week, when the booters take on notoriously pesky MIT next Wednesday, followed three days later by a crucial matchup with eastern power Columbia.

But for now, the booters hold an undefeated mark, on the strength of a pair of goals by Sophomore Lance Ayrault and another by unheralded Richard Burk-man. Seasoned midfielder and captain Mike Smith chipped in two assists, and Benny Erulkar and Pete Walsh--the latter returning after a season off--tended the twines steadily. The Crimson offense peppered Haverford's goalies Ray Monto and Matt Bird with 16 shots, a performance that bodes well for the regular season.

It is too early to tell, but this may be the year for coach George Ford's klatch to be the party of the fall. They face little competition from the Democrats and the Republicans. And, as optimists like to point out, Ford's charges are overdue after two disappointing seasons. Whether they can cash in their talent for victories over the Lions, UMass and nationally ranked UConn remains to be seen. Wednesday's results seem to indicate that Ayrault, a Seattle, Wash., native, may supply the catalyst for an often dormant offense.