M. Soccer Hopeful For Late Ivy Luck

A crisp fall afternoon.

Screaming fans.

The final game of the year.

The title on the line.

And Brown University.

All are virtual staples of the end of an Ivy League men's soccer season.

But Harvard? What business does the Crimson, with an overall record of 4-8-2, have in a game of such magnitude?

As improbable as it may sound, the Crimson find themselves in just such a winner-take-all situation when it faces Brown this afternoon. Although both teams arrived at this point via quite different routes, today, winner could walk off with the Ivy League championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division I championship.

As senior forward Steve Gaffney admits, "It's all kind of weird."

Despite the Crimson's lackluster overall performance, it sports an Ivy League record of 4-1-1, good for a second-place tie with Columbia behind Brown (5-0-1). Although both Brown (10-2-1) and Columbia (9-2-2) have much more impressive total records, a variety of complicated scenarios could leave any of the three teams the champion by today's end.

* By beating Cornell, 2-0 last Saturday, Brown clinched at least a tie for the Ivy League Championship. If the Bears triumph today, they win the championship and go to the NCAA's.

* If Harvard beats Brown and Dartmouth beats or ties Columbia, however. Harvard and Brown will be tied for first, and Harvard will get the national playoff berth by virtue of the victory over Brown.

* Finally, if Harvard beats Brown and Columbia beats Dartmouth, there will be a three-way tie, and Columbia will triumph due to its better record in games between the three teams.

Brown has had an impressive year to date, highlighted by wins of 4-1 over Dartmouth, 9-0 over Penn, and last Saturday's victory against Cornell.

The only blemish on its Ivy League record could prove to be costly, however: a 1-1 tie at Columbia on October 15. If the Bears had won that contest, they would now be undisputed League champions.

Brown's attack centers largely around a high-powered offense led by senior midfielder Darren Eales. A two-time Ivy League player of the week, Eales leads the Ivy League in goals (13) and total points (31), including three multi-goal games this year. His 75 career points tie him for fourth place on Brown's career scoring list.

Junior goalkeeper Tim Webb will also pose problems for Harvard. He rides a streak of three consecutive shutouts coming into today's game, and he leads the Ivy League in both shutouts (with six) and goals-allowed average (0.60).

Gaffney says that Harvard is well aware of Brown's strengths. "They have really good offensive players and midfielder as well as a good goalie," he says. "They are very well-balanced."

He adds that the team has no plans to over-cover Eales, aside from "playing with a lot of intensity and playing good team defense."

After a 1-6 start to the season, Harvard has improved its play coming into today's contest. And you'd have to say that the team's youth has been one of the key to its turnaround.

Sophomores Will Kohler, Kevin Silva and T.J Carella are the team's three leading scorers (with 16, 11 and nine points, respectively). And fellow sophomore Pete Albers is developing into one of the league's better goalies--he has registered three shutouts and a 1.75 GAA.