Youth Will Serve M. Soccer's Year

When freshman Spencer George controlled a well-played ball from fellow freshman Ladd Fritz and scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute of the season opener, the young duo unwittingly authored the first entry in the next chapter of Crimson soccer.

Although the season began with a win thanks in large part to a freshman collaboration, continuing this early success could prove to be a problem for the young and relatively inexperienced Harvard team.

This year's 15 newcomers are the most in recent history and four freshmen received starting nods in the season opener. Only seven upperclassmen remain on a team 28 players strong.

However, second-year coach John Kerr looks forward to harnessing the potential of Harvard's young guns and combining it with the steady leadership of the team's returning starters to improve upon last year's 6-9-2 (3-4-0 Ivy) season.

"Our coaching staff is great and excited to have a young team with good leaders," said sophomore midfielder Joe Steffa. "The season looks promising."

At each position, Harvard has both raw, untested talent and seasoned confidence.

In the backfield, senior Matt Edwards and sophomore Mike Lobach anchor a solid defense that now features the speed and aggressiveness of freshmen Isaac Kim and Andrew Old. They will be playing in front of junior goalkeeper Dan Mejias, who was pressed by injury into the starting job late last year. Sunday's 1-0 win over West Virginia was his first collegiate shutout.

The Crimson midfielders and forwards will have to count on the patience and wisdom of veterans such as senior Wells Mangrum, junior Mike Peller and sophomores Steffa and Mark Buan to corral and channel the explosiveness of freshmen George, Fritz and Andrew Nechtem.

All of these elements will be held in place by the centerpiece of the program, captain Ryan Kelly. Returning as captain for a second year, Kelly will bring to the field emotional fire and leadership in addition to his excellent field vision and artful flip passes that consistently set up Crimson scoring chances.

"Ryan Kelly is our inspirational leader," Kerr said. "He's tough, he works his tail off and really leads by example on and off the field."

Coach Kerr and his staff spent last spring evaluating last season and its lessons while working with the players to condition them for the challenging campaign this fall.

"Last year was definitely a good learning experience for me and the team," Kerr said.

After Sunday's home opener against West Virginia on windblown Ohiri Field, the Crimson now starts a four-game road trip that will pit them against No. 13 Stanford and perennial Ivy League powerhouse Brown.

"The biggest game for us will be the first Ivy League game [against Brown]," Kerr said. "I want to get off to a good start in the Ivy League because winning the [Ivy League] title is the bread-and-butter for us."

In order to accomplish that objective, Harvard will have to face defending Ivy champ Princeton and last year's runner-up Brown on the road, and will have to contend with strong teams from Yale and Cornell at home.

Last year, Harvard lost to these four Ivy League contenders by a combined margin of 10-2.

The Yale and Cornell home games are especially important since they will come in the midst of a five-game mid-season homestand that could either give the Crimson added momentum or derail the promising young club.

Ultimately, though, Harvard has its eyes firmly set on its objective for the season--wresting the Ivy League crown from nemesis Princeton and recapturing it for the first time since 1996.

"Our goal from the first day has been to win the Ivy League title," Kelly said. "We haven't done it since I've been here and we've come close a couple times. We just want to win the Ivy League and get into the [NCAA] tournament and see how far we can go."

And if the start of the Crimson's season is any indication--with the tempered play of the veterans punctuated by the flair of the freshmen--then Harvard can look forward to ending this chapter of its history with a happy ending.