An Offense In Cognito

Take a look at the men's soccer season to date--eight goals in nine games with four shutouts against--and all you can ask is "Where has the offense been hiding?"

Everybody knows--or thinks--it's there somewhere. Although it was nothing to write home about, the Crimson did manage six tallies in its first three games. Mauro Keller-Sarmiento even notched a hat trick against Brandeis.

But the lithe Argentinian's three-goal game represents more twine-twitching than the Crimson have had since the Judges came to Cambridge on September 22.

So where, then, has the offense gone, this long month passing? Simply put, it's been disguised as defense.

You see, it's extremely difficult to score goals in soccer these days, especially if a team plays offense with only three players. The problem is that most back lines have four defenders, one to mark each of the forwards, and a sweeper to cover for any defender who gets beaten.

So no matter how good your striker and wings are, there aren't too many situations where any team can score playing a man down in the offensive end of the field. The key to the offense, then, lies in the hands--or feet--of the midfielders, who must set up plays and help the forwards press on offense.

This is just where the Crimson has come up short. Instead of moving up on offense, making challenging runs and creating scoring opportunities, the midfield has been laying back on defense.

This has produced some admirable results--a 0-0 tie with nationally-ranked Hartwick and a defense that has allowed an average of 1.44 goals a game--but it has also failed to gain Harvard an Ivy victory, leaving the squad 0-4 in the league.

The offensive talent is there. Give Keller-Sarmiento or Lance Ayrault a chance one-on-one instead of one-on-two or three and see what happens. In any event, the midfield has got to get into the act, and no doubt this weekend in Providence they will try.

Chances are that Keller-Sarmiento will shift from the forward line to the center midfield slot against Brown, said captain John Duggan, the booters' stopper on defense and ironically their leading shooter.

His presence there should allow the Crimson to control the ball more in the middle and may just bring the offense out of its hibernation. When you've scored twice in the entire month of October, every little bit helps.