Eagles Stop Booters, 3-1

There's no place like home.

The Boston College men's soccer team raised its home record to 7-0 this season by defeating Harvard, 3-1, last night at Alumni Stadium.

"Would you want to play on this [artificial turf]?" B.C. senior Mark Egan said.

The Eagles scored 3:45 into the game when Egan headed in a corner kick from freshman Justin Ceccarelli.

"I was given a free header," Egan said. "Basically, I had time to pick out where I wanted to hit it."

Harvard (5-8 overall, 2-3 Ivy) dropped its second straight game. The Crimson fell to Dartmouth, 1-0, in Ivy League action last Sunday. B.C. raised its record to 7-8-1.

After Egan's early tally, the teams were unable to crack the scoreboard for the rest of the half. Harvard maintained ball possession for the bulk of the first half, yet was unable to find the goal.

The Eagles extended their lead to two with 12:35 left in the game. Freshman Glenn Moller dribbled the ball down the left side and passed to sophomore R.P. Beurlein. Still in stride, Beurlein directed the ball to junior Andy Sage, who put it past Harvard goalie Scott Salisbury.

Harvard, however, did not quit. Senior forward Derek Mills sent a pass to freshman J.D. Kosakowski, who found the net with 4:11 to play.

But B.C. slammed the door on Harvard's chances when Moller slipped a shot past Salisbury for a 3-1 Eagle advantage.

"We played very well," B.C. Assistant Coach Ed Rae said. "We needed this win."

"Harvard played very well," Rae added. "I'm amazed we held them off in the first half."

Harvard was able to create several opportunities, as it outshot the Eagles, 19-8, for the game and controlled the pace in the first half.

With nine minutes to play in the opening period, senior Roger Chapman, junior John Shue and sophomore Jeremy Amen bombarded the B.C. goal with a barrage of shots, but none was successful.

Three minutes later, Amen passed the ball to senior Nick D'Onofrio, who directed it to classmate David Kramer. However, Kramer's head attempt was blocked by the B.C. defensive corps.

Harvard kept the pressure on B.C. all game. The Crimson continually tried to push men upfield to take advantage of its ball possession.

"I haven't seen anybody compress their attack zone like Harvard does," Rae said. "The Harvard coach must have great confidence in his team speed. They are very fast."

"They had the skills, but we just capitalized on their mistakes," Egan said. "Just beating Harvard is a good win."

THE NOTEBOOK: Junior defender Nick Gates, who required stitches after a facial injury on the final play of Sunday's game, sat out last night but plans to be back for Harvard's game against Princeton Sunday at Ohiri Field. The Tigers currently share the league lead with Yale.

Eagles, 3-1 at Alumni Stadium B.C.  1-2-3 Harvard  0-1-1

Goals--B, Mark Egan (Justin Ceccarelli), 3:45; B, Andy Sage (R.P. Beurlein, Glenn Moller), 77:25; H, J.D. Kosakowski (Derek Mills), 85:49; B, Moller, 87:15.

Saves--B, Brian Boussy 8; H, Scott Salisbury 6.