Brown Tops Booters, 5-1, Harvard Faces Army Today

Decimated by injuries, Harvard's soccer team collapsed under incessant Brown pressure in the final period Saturday to allow four goals, losing by a score of 5-1 its last slim chance for the Ivy League title.

The loss set the Crimson back four points behind league-leading Brown with only one game to play and left only Penn, which won Saturday, with a shot at a share of the Ivy championship.

Harvard's booters start another race today when they oppose Army at 1:30 p.m. on the Business School field in the first round of the NCAA Eastern Regional Tournament.

Today, as on Saturday, Harvard's biggest problem will be injuries. In addition to Scott Robertson, Pete Bogovich, and Jaime Vargas, who all played against Brown with injuries, there are three players who were injured on Saturday. Both goalies, Richie Locksley and Jim Sawhill, left the game, and sophomore Solomon Gomez was forced out of action after being kicked.

Four Missing

Harvard began Saturday's game without four starters--the entire forward line and one fullback--but it played scrappy, aggressive soccer in the first half to hold Brown to a 0-0 tie.

Coach Bruce Munro positioned one fullback in the Brown zone when Harvard was on the attack so that the Crimson was playing a modified press offense. Halfback Mike Sicher bottled up league scoring leader Ben Brewster so effectively that the Bruin coach had to move him to the other wing.

"If we had gotten the first goal," Munro mused afterward, "it might have been a different game."

But the Bruins were the first to break the deadlock and Harvard's frenetically-scrambling style weakened as they pumped in five goals to run away with the contest.

First Goal

Brown wing Denis Colacicco scored the first goal at 18:52 of the third period. Center forward George King out-manuvered Harvard fullback Ron McLain and then centered a hard shot which Colacicco headed past Crimson goalie Richie Locksley.

The goal stunned Harvard, but what Munro called the "frosting" for Brown came only thirty seconds into the final quarter. This time Colacicco assisted Bob Biehl who drilled a hard shot past Locksley.

The goal proved decisive, but it also was the play that knocked Locksley out of the game. Jim Sawhill replaced him, but Sawhill, who was playing with a torn rib cartilege, later re-injured his chest and left the game, leaving Harvard without a goalie. JV goalie Wayne Quasha finished the game for Harvard.

After Locksley left, Brown stepped up the tempo of its attacks. George Gerdts scored Brown's third goal two minutes later. Brewster scored on a penalty kick and Ssebazza Herman finished the scoring on a 30 yard grounder.

Harvard's only goal was a fluke. Scott Robertson took a pass from Jaime Vargas and then booted a high line-drive shot that struck the top of the goal. The ball bounced straight down and out of the net, but the referee ruled that it was valid.

Munro was not awed by Brown's performance. "They looked good in the second half," he said, "but I don't think they were as good as Penn."

He is considerably more wary of Army. "They are the worst possible team to go against with injuries," he admitted. "It would not be as bad against a skillful team," he continued, "but Army overpowers you."