High-Flying Booters Meet Dartmouth

The Harvard men's soccer team heads into the second half of its regular season with today's match-up against Dartmouth at Ohiri Field, but Crimson Coach Mike Getman knows his team hasn't yet hit its mid-season stride.

"We're definitely not where we want to be," Getman said. "Most teams are working on getting consistent, and we're still trying to figure out who we're going to play."

The cause of Getman's woes is a slew of Crimson injuries--midfielder Nick Hotchkin is the only booter to pull through the first eight games without some sort of bump or bruise. As a result of all these fitness problems, Harvard has yet to start the same line-up twice.

"If we'd started with everybody healthy, we'd be very good right now," Getman said. "As it stands, we're a decent team with the potential to be very good."

"Decent" performances have earned the Crimson an undefeated record (6-0-2 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) heading into today's contest with the Big Green. But Dartmouth's record (6-0-1) doesn't sport any blemishes either.

"The big thing about Dartmouth is their will to win," Hotchkin said. "They're going to chase and hurry for the whole game."

The Big Green has a big reason for running after the Crimson. The two teams finished last year's contest--and last year's Ivy race--in a deadlock. Duplicate 3-1-3 records put the pair a notch below league-champion Yale (5-0-2), while a late-game penalty kick by Dartmouth's Vladica Stanojevic knotted the regular season contest, 1-1.

Stanojevic, the highest scoring schoolboy in Vermont history, will be back in the front field today. The Yugoslavian sophomore currently leads the team scoring list with seven goals and three assists for 17 points, one point ahead of junior Doug MacGinnitie (7-2--16).

"We know [Dartmouth's] fast and fairly direct," Getman said. "They like going to goal, and they've shown the ability to score goals."

Today's contest marks the second of a tough four-game road stretch for the Big Green, which is riding a 4-0 triumph over New Hampshire Wednesday in Durham. Harvard, meanwhile, got a big lift from Tuesday's home victory over Boston University.

"Our preparation [for Dartmouth] started with B.U.," Hotchkin said. "We played well, and the 3-1 score was encouraging."

The three-goal showing against the Terriers broke a mini-scoring slump for the Crimson, which had been struggling offensively.

"We finally got over the hump and are scoring goals," Getman said. "We've worked hard on making quick decisions."

Getman has experimented with a three forward/three midfielder combination, but will start only two forwards today--sophomores Nick D'Onofrio and David Kramer. The regular starting midfield is healthy, but Getman is still having trouble putting together a consistent backfield.

"We have a lot of nagging injuries in the back," Getman said. "We only have three of seven backs healthy."