Columbia Holds Soccer Team to 0-0 Tie As Crimson's Offense Fails to Produce

It was a disgruntled varsity soccer squad that walked off the field last Saturday after its second scoreless tie in a row. The Crimson hammered away at Columbia's goal for four quarters and two overtime periods, but the tenacious Lion defense never yielded.

The varsity's defense was, as usual, impenetrable. Lanny Keyes played a nearly perfect game at left fullback, and halfback Charlie Steele bottled up the Columbia attack on the right. At the one point when a sensational stop was needed, goalie Tom Bagnoli came through. In the fourth quarter, Lion center forward Haakan Rutchinsky had a clear shot from close in, but Bagnoli rose to the occasion with a spectacular diving save.

With halfback Marsh McCall, wing John McIntosh, and inside Ted Wendell leading the way, the Crimson offense spent most of the contest deep in Lion territory.

Stunned Goalie

Late in the first overtime, varsity inside John Mudd launched a hard shot that looked like the Crimson's winning goal. At the last possible instant, however, little Tony Gebauer, a 5 ft., 6 in. halfback, blocked the ball with his head, stunning himself but ending the varsity's last serious threat.

Left fullback Ekkehard Boellert was the big man in the Columbia defense. Physically prepossessing at 6 ft., 6 in. and 250 Ibs., the slow-moving Boellert seemed always to be in the right place, thanks to a kind of blind instinct. And his kicks regularly covered half the length of the field.

Columbia's goalie, Stew Witt, put in a fine game, despite his difficulties with the hulking Boellert. It seemed that the big fullback was blocking the goalie's view of the game--often a fatal mistake. Throughout the game, conversations like the following went on between the two:

"Can't you please stay out of my way, Boellert?"

"I got it, didn't I?

"Yeah, but I can't see what the hell is going on."

Nevertheless, Boellert usually managed to come up with the right play when it counted, and the Crimson offense could do nothing against him and his swarming teammates. The varsity again demonstrated its need for a scoring punch.