Booters Top Penn, 4-1

Wasting no opportunities and helped by a strong wind in the first half, the Harvard men's soccer team downed Pennsylvania Saturday morning, 4-1.

"The game was played evenly," said Harvard Coach Jape Shattuck. "But our shooting was [more] accurate and that made the difference," he added, noting that the Crimson's early 3-0 lead sealed the win.

Forward Lane Kenworthy tallied first for the Crimson, blasting a shot into the lower right corner of the net after a pass from teammate Glenn Brack went off the foot of a Penn defender.

Twelve minutes later Kenworthy scored again, stealing the ball from Penn goalie Bob Bohner and flipping it into an unguarded net. And just before the half, John Catliff broke away at midfield and beat Bohner for the Crimson's third score.

But with the wind at their backs in the second half, the Quakers were able to turn the momentum in their favor, attacking with eight men and pressing the action deep into Harvard territory.

Penn finally got on the board midway through the half when Derek Murphy took a pass from Jon Urffer and fired a low hard shot past Harvard keeper Phil Coogan.

The Harvard lead appeared in jeopardy minutes later when Crimson midfielder Jay Hooper was given a red card, removing him from the game and forcing the Crimson to play a man short the rest of the way. The penalty was indicative of rough play which nearly led to fist fights several times.

With a man advantage, the Quakers were able to keep play in front of the Harvard goal for the remainder of the contest. But several clutch saves by Coogan and shots that sailed high over the goalposts stymied the Quakers for the rest of the game.

With only 34 seconds left, Catliff added a fourth Crimson tally on an indirect kick, and the booters came away with a big win in a hard fought contest.

The Quakers had their opportunities, out-shooting the Crimson, 14-8, but it was Harvard that was able to capitalize.

The booters have to sustain their level of performance for one more week. On Saturday they travel to New Haven to take on the Elis in the season finale, a match Shattuck expects to be close.