Men Booters Blast Past Hartford, 2-1

It was rainy, it was muddy, it was a lousy day. Perfect for a soggy, sloppy, soccer game.

Indeed, by the end of the game, the faces were covered with rain, the shirts had long since stuck to the skin, and steam was rising from the bodies on Ohiri Field.

But on the sidelines, Harvard Coach Mike Getman was smiling Broadly.

The Crimson (2-1 overall, 0-1 Ivy) had not let the wet, heavy field spoil the debut of a new lineup and a new look--a direct, attacking game that defeated Hartford, 2-1, yesterday.

Rookie Peter Cochrane, making his debut in the Crimson backfield, set up a Nick D'Onofrio goal 31:56 into the first half to give the Crimson a 1-0 advantage. A Derek Mills penalty kick pushed the Crimson advantage to 2-0 and sealed the victory.

On the sidelines, Captain Paul Baverstock--sidelined for the season with a knee injury--watched the game with a trenchcoat wrapped around his crutches. His first comments were about Cochrane. And "classy" is what he called the fresh-man's performance.

Getman made a line-up adjustment--moving two-year sweeper Nick Gates into center midfield and putting newcomer Cochrane in the sweeper spot--and it gave the Crimson exactly what it needed. An attacker in back and an anchor in the middle.

Cochrane, who played midfield in his collegiate debut last Saturday, laughed when he was asked what position he played in high school. There have been bigger and better things since then. The under-21 national team, for one. On that team, he played sweeper. On this team, well, Nick Gates had better find himself a new position.

Not that Gates will have to look for long. With his buddy Bavs out for the season, center midfield looks mighty inviting. And Gates marked himself a permanent place there yesterday with great control and an excellent sense of the game.

"Nick understands exactly what we're trying to do," Getman said. "He's also what I'd call a sneak. Basically, he waits to see what the opponent is doing and manages to play around him."

Gates was the ignition point for the Crimson's first goal, centering the ball and then sending a perfectly placed pass out to rookie Jason Luzak at left midfield. Luzak ran the ball wide up the side before air-mailing it to the left post, manned by--of all people--Cochrane.

"[Cochrane] gave me a heart attack once or twice," Getman said. "There are some coaches that would not want their players to take risks. But if you have the skill, I want you to attack."

Cochrane did not hesitate to run the ball--or to run out of position. But the risks paid off. After receiving the ball from Luzak, Cochrane sent a curveball toward the right post, and D'Onofrio's diving header nailed the goal with 13:04 remaining in the first half.

"That's how I always play sweeper, that's how I was taught to play sweeper," said Cochrane of his risky, attacking style. "I know [Getman] trusts me enough to let me take the risks, so I go out and play the game my way."

Mills' game-winner came after a Hartford defender dragged him down on a dangerous drive into the box. The senior attacker placed the kick to the left of Hawk goaltender George Kostelis with 7:29 remaining in the first half.

"Our inexperience marking a player like a Derek Mills and the Harvard goalkeeper's saves made the differences in the game," said Hartford Coach Doug Orr, whose team fell to 5-3 overall. "You can't let [Mills] loose. That's what will hurt you."

Hartford retaliated with a Victor Hernani dribbler past Crimson goal-tender Scott Salisbury 17:01 into the second half.

Salisbury was surprised by the shot, but not much escaped him for the rest of the day. The first-year goaltender knocked down several crucial Hawk shots early in the second half as the Crimson struggled.

"In the first half, we played the ball around the back well and that gave them time up front," Cochrane said. "In the second half, we didn't do that."

"The Harvard goalkeeper came up with three great saves," said Orr, who was without top attacker Vito Serafini and Captain Dwight Bronson. "He really hurt our game."

Tough Turf

Late in the second half, sophomore midfielder Jeremy Amen looked like a man protecting his turf. And, in fact, he was.

Amen, who rattled off back-to-back shots that gave Kostelis some of his toughest tests of the game, sat the bench for the first 25 minutes despite his status as a returning starter.

"We have a lot of players who are sitting on the bench who deserve to be on the field," Getman said.

Indeed, if depth was a problem last year, it's a blessing this season.

Amen and classmate Lenny Ilkhanoff saw less time yesterday than they did in most games last season. And it clearly wasn't because their skills were suffering. For the first time since he came to Harvard in 1987, Getman has a deep and virtually injury-free line-up.

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard makes its big trip to Bloomington, Ind., this weekend to face returning national champion Indiana at 3 p.m. (EST) Sunday...D'Onofrio put in what Getman called his "best performance in years" and continues to lead the Crimson scoring list with two goals and an assist for five points...The Crimson had 15 shots to Hartford's 11.