Stanford Slips Men Booters, 2-1

Mark Semioli's penalty kick in overtime lifted Stanford to a 2-1 victory over the Harvard men's soccer game yesterday at Ohiri Field. The tally spoiled Crimson goalie Jamie Reilly's first-ever collegiate start.

"I was fortunate enough that he guessed the wrong way," Semioli said.

The Cardinal penalty kicker has guessed right a lot lately--he's nailed all three penalty kicks this year and hit a perfect four last season. This time, his precision resulted in the game-winner.

The loss marked the second straight defeat for the Crimson (2-3 overall, 0-1 Ivy League), which fell to nationally ranked Indiana, 7-2, in Bloomington last Sunday. But with both losses coming to teams outside the region--Indiana and Stanford were new additions to Harvard's schedule this fall--neither result should affect the Crimson's standing in the Northeast.

"It was our best overall team performance," Harvard Coach Mike Getman said. "We played very well against a good team."

Senior Roger Chapman capitalized on a feed from Richard Knight to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead at 20:57 of the first half. Chapman lifted a high shot from the right side that found its way past confused Stanford netminder Kyle Krpata.

Both squads had ample opportunity to score the rest of the half, but neither could find the net. Stanford's best opportunity came at the 28-minute mark after a bobbled save by Reilly, which he quickly recovered with the help of diving sophomore defender Josh Morris.

Harvard's biggest chance in the half came on a breakaway created by stellar dribbling and a pinpoint feed from freshman Jason Luzak. But senior Derek Mills' shot sailed wide.

"We beat them all over the field," Morris said, "but that doesn't really matter."

Ball-Watching

After dominating ball possession in the first half, Harvard appeared flat after halftime.

"In the beginning of the second half, we ball-watched a bit," Reilly said.

Stanford (4-4-1) applied consistent pressure to begin the half. Junior midfielder Nick Gates made tremendous defensive plays to break up potential scoring opportunities by Lance "A lot" Killian and Todd Caven.

Then Reilly took over. After saving a shot on a header from Killian, Reilly made two diving stops and a jump save following a corner kick.

"Once I got my legs and got into the flow of the game, I was much more comfortable out there," Reilly said.

Krpata responded to Reilly's challenge, making two impressive saves on shots by Knight and freshman Peter Cochran with just over 20 minutes to play.

With 19:58 remaining in regulation, the Cardinal finally broke through the stingy Crimson defense. Chris Porch took a pass from Caven and slipped a shot by Reilly to knot the score at one.

Stanford nearly took the lead when John Howlett's shot went wide with 14 minutes left. Harvard then failed to convert its plays the rest of regulation. Despite several well-placed corners from Mills, the Crimson could not find the net.

With under five minutes to play in the first overtime, Harvard was called for a hand ball violation. That set the stage for Semioli's late game heroics.

Stanford's Jeff Rona nearly iced the game for the Cardinal in the second OT, but his shot caromed off the left post. With five minutes left, Reilly thwarted another Stanford chance with a diving save.

"Reilly played superb and Morris and Brian Enge had their best games of the year," Getman said. "[Morris and Enge] played more relaxed."

The last four minutes belonged to the Crimson, as the team applied constant pressure to a Scrooge-like Cardinal defense. D'Onofrio's last-second shot sailed over the net, sealing the victory for Stanford.

Sunday, Harvard resumes its Ivy League schedule when it hosts Penn at 1 p.m. at Ohiri Field. The Quakers shocked Dartmouth recently and sit atop the Ivy standings.

"Now we'll get back to what really matters," Getman said.

Cardinal, 2-1 (OT) at Ohiri Field STANFORD  0-1-1-0-2 HARVARD  1-0-0-0-1

Goals-- H, Chapman 1 (Knight) 20:57; S, Porch 1 (Caven) 70:02; S, Semioli 4 (unassisted) 100:32.

Shots-- Harvard 30, Stanford 20.

Cornerkicks-- Harvard 10, Stanford 9.

Saves-- H, Reilly 8; S, Krpata 5.

Attendance: 200