Eli Tie Gives Booters Ivy Title

NEW HAVEN--Brrrrr.

The Harvard men's soccer team met with an icy reception at the Yale Soccer Field Saturday. The Elis froze out the Crimson attack, holding Harvard scoreless for only the second time this season.

But the Crimson didn't need to score in order to come home the winner. The 0-0 overtime deadlock sends Harvard into this weekend's NCAA quarterfinals with an unde-feated record and the Ivy League title. The Elis finished the season empty-handed.

The Crimson will face Adelphi, 1-0 overtime winners over Hartwick, in next Sunday's tournament action. The site for the contest has not been announced.

Saturday's tie gave the Crimson (13-0-3 overall, 6-0-1 Ivy) its first league crown since 1970. Yale, the defending champion, ended in second place with a 5-1-1 mark (9-4-2 overall).

"I thought [the Elis] would come out and play like madmen," said Crimson Captain Mark Pepper, who played for the first time in two months after injuring his quadricep. "They wanted to share the title with us."

But it was the Harvard attack that was on the run--and not just to keep warm in the sub-zero wind chill temperatures. The Crimson offense controlled the tempo of the game, with Yale playing a defensive game.

"[Yale] played a counter-attack offense," Harvard Coach Mike Getman said. "They sat back and defended and looked for the quick break. They had chances, but some-body always came through for us. [Crimson goalie Stephen] Hall came up big."

Simply Red

The booters' ears were as red as their jerseys and several players donned gloves to keep warm. But Hall certainly didn't have cold hands in the goalie box. The junior netminder nabbed five saves in his sixth shutout of the season.

With at least a share in the title guaranteed for the Crimson, motivation proved to be a problem in the opening period. Harvard's defense did not pressure the Yale forwards, but the Elis failed to capitalize on the advantage--firing a mere three shots in the first half.

"The first half we were definitely a little loose," Getman said. "They were very quick and counter-attacked. The second half we denied them the ball."

No Net Offense

Harvard did manage to net the ball once, as a Ken Ruoff shot landed in the right side of goal. But the tally, which came 20 minutes into the second period, was negated on a handball call. Ruoff deflected a pass off his upper body following a Ramy Rajballie corner kick, and the officials ruled that hands were used on the play.

Yale challenged early in the second half, when Eli Captain Dave Kulik headed a shot off the crossbar. Junior midfielder Paul Morsink sent a cross pass from the left corner to Kulik, who played the game with a cast on his right arm.

"Long kicks from their goalkeeper in the second half hurt us," Crimson senior back Andy Dale said.

Yale netminder Bryan Martin put up a strong battle in net, as a Crimson surge with four minutes left in regulaton sent three consecutive shots at goal.