M. Soccer Loses Third Straight at Dartmouth, 3-0

One week after being shutout 3-0 at Princeton for its worse loss of the season, the men's soccer team matched that feat in Hanover, N.H., yesterday afternoon.

In the snowy aftermath of odd Halloween weather, Dartmouth (10-4, 4-1 Ivy) gave Harvard (7-6-1, 1-4) more trick than treat by defeating the Crimson 3-0 on the frozen tundra of Chase Field.

Although the loss was Harvard's second straight Ivy shutout, yesterday's game was much closer than the score indicated.

For the entire first half, the Crimson kept pace with the Big Green, and neither team had an apparent advantage in the cold and blustery weather.

"It was cold and the wind made it tough to judge certain balls, but both teams had to play though it," said captain Ryan Kelly. "Play was pretty even in the first half."

The Crimson, buoyed by the strong play of Kelly, sophomore midfielder Joe Steffa and sophomore defensive back Mike Cornish, had a few scoring chances throughout the first period, but was unable to capitalize.

Then, unexpectedly, Dartmouth broke open the game with a fluke goal with thirty seconds left in the first half.

In the 45th minute, Big Green captain Nick Magnuson crossed a corner kick from the right side of the field to the near post. Freshman Damien Quinn connected just well enough on the cross to sneak it past Crimson goalkeeper Dan Mejias for what eventually became the game-winning goal.

"Although we played well in the first half, we started to lose control," Mejias said. "We just fell asleep on the corner and they scored."

Despite the setback, Harvard maintained hope that it could equalize the score in the second half.

"Coming out of halftime, we were confident that we could come back," Kelly said.

These plans were derailed, however, four minutes into the second half on a record-breaking performance by Dartmouth freshman Matt LaBarre.

In the 50th minute, LaBarre collected a pass from senior Brad Chirstof and blasted a long shot from over 25 yards out. The rocket knifed through the wind and appeared to be heading over the goal but dipped under the crossbar at the last second to give Dartmouth a devastating 2-0 lead.

The goal was LaBarre's fifth of the season, breaking the mark of four freshman goals set by Dartmouth's all-time leading scorer, Vlade Stanojevic. LaBarre also added an assist later in the afternoon to establish a new points record (16) for a freshman.

After the wind-assisted second goal, the proverbial wind was knocked out of Harvard's sails.

"We were really dejected after the second goal, especially since we were sure we could come back in the second half," Mejias said.

After LaBarre's goal, the Crimson was unable to generate any other substantial scoring chances. Dartmouth added insult to injury in the final minutes when Danny Markman scored against backup Crimson goalie Russell Mosier to bring the shutout to 3-0.

Mejias, who had been relieved three minutes earlier, finished the day with three saves. Big Green goaltender Ben Gebre-Medhin finished with four saves to collect his 10th win of the season.

The loss was the Crimson's third in a row and gave the team as many Ivy losses as it had collected all of last season. Harvard's goal for the remainder of the season seems clear.

"We want to win our remaining three games so that we can have some positive momentum going into next season," Mejias said.

For those who will not be on next year's team, the last three games still represent a chance to finish with heads held high.

"We definitely want to go out with a few wins and on a high note," said Kelly, one of the team's three seniors.

Harvard will travel north to face Maine this Wednesday and will wrap up its 2000 campaign against Columbia at home and Pennsylvania on the road.