M. Soccer Faces Yale in Critical Matchup Tomorrow

Regardless of the sport, games between Harvard and Yale tend to carry a weight greater than individual wins or losses ordinarily do. Episodes in this oldest of rivalries are also battles for respect, honor, prestige, and other intangibles that aren't represented in the win and loss columns.

The Harvard men's soccer team enters this weekend's battle with Yale at Ohiri Field knowing that with a loss, those intangibles would probably be the only thing left to fight for.

The Crimson (5-3-1, 0-2 Ivy) hosts Yale (5-5, 1-1) at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow with its season essentially on the line.

Having lost its two previous Ivy matches, including last weekend's heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to Cornell, Harvard knows that an 0-3 Ivy record at the end of 90 minutes on Saturday would spell the death of its conference title aspirations.

"It's obviously a must-win situation for us," said second year Harvard Coach John Kerr. "With the two losses we've already had, we're in a really tough situation."

The Crimson faces a Yale program that established itself as one of the best in the east in 1999. The Elis won a school-record 13 games during the regular season, including a triumph over eventual national champion Indiana.

Yale eventually advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, and finished the year ranked among the nation's top 20 teams.

However, that Bulldog team and the 2000 iteration are very different. Yale did this mostly on the strength of a very strong senior class, one that the Crimson and the rest of the region no longer have to contend with.

This year's Yale lineup features only three seniors and three juniors.

"They're not as experienced as they once were," Kerr said. "They're a lot like we are, they have a lot of young but very important players."

The most prominent player in Yale's youth movement is sophomore forward Jay Alberts, who leads the team in scoring with seven points in ten games. Alberts was named last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1999 after finishing second on the Bulldogs in scoring with 21 points in 18 games.

Alberts has notched seven points in this young season. Another sophomore, defenseman Stuart Yingst, is second on the team with six.

This more youthful Bulldog squad has already suffered a league loss to Ivy co-leader Dartmouth, and is tied with Columbia and Cornell for fourth place.

However, Yale's early season losses are deceiving. The Elis have been forced to play much of the season without their goaltender and leader, captain Danny Moss.

Moss tore cartilage in his knee during an early-season practice, and had corrective surgery on Sept. 11. The injury k ept him out of the season's first six games.

Since Moss' return, the Bulldogs are 3-1, including a shutout win over Cornell.

"We know it's going to be a tough game," said junior netminder Dan Mejias. "Ivy League soccer is always really competitive, and they've been playing very well since they got Moss back."

Harvard, meanwhile, will attempt to build on Wednesday's 1-0 victory over UMass. The victory buoyed the team's spirits after the devastating near-upset of Cornell last Saturday.

"UMass was a big game," Mejias said. "We were really down after Cornell, and having that momentum means a lot to us."

Harvard's hopes rest a great deal on captain Ryan Kelly's ability to maintain his own personal momentum. He has found the back of the net in three of Harvard's last four contests, including game-winning tallies against UMass and Boston College.

Kelly, a three-time All-Ivy selection in the backfield, has made a seamless transition from the defense to the front line this year.

The rest of the Crimson lineup features only two other seniors. The Harvard roster also has 15 freshmen and six sophomores.

Among the rookies is forward Spencer George, who is second on the team in goals scored.

The youngsters have responded admirably to the pressure of high-level collegiate soccer, leading Harvard to a No. 8 ranking in the region. Yale is just behind at No. 9, and both teams are on the rise.

Still, Mejias realizes that the potential Ivy League ramifications, not regional rankings, will define tomorrow's battle.

"It's definitely a make-or-break situation for us," Mejias said. "We're going to have to win the rest of our games and finish with a 5-2 record to have any real chance of winning the Ivies."

Running the table the rest of the way seems a lofty goal for a young team that has yet to play Dartmouth (7-2, 3-0 Ivy). Still, if the eventual meeting with the Big Green is going to have any meaning at all, the Crimson must come up big in a matchup that has always meant something.