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Booters Face Ephmen Today

Crimson Moves to 4-2-4

By Charles B. Straus

Coming off a good week of practice after a shocking 3-0 loss to Wesleyan, the Harvard soccer team will try to recover this afternoon when it travels to Williams for a final tune-up before its Ivy opener Saturday with Columbia.

The Crimson will be buoyed by the return of fullback Brian Fearnett to the lineup after what appears to be a complete recovery from a groin pull suffered in the MIT game. Two other injured starters are still hurting.

Offensive star Felix Adedeji worked out yesterday for the first time since sustaining a twisted left knee against the Engineers. Goalie Steve Kidder tested his sore back.

Adedeji was able to play at half speed and will probably start, but both the lanky Nigerian forward and captain Kidder will wait until game time before making a final decision.

Besides the return of some key players, Harvard will officially unveil the new 4-2-4 formation it tried in Saturday's 3-2 exhibition loss to the Alumni. After anemic offensive showings against MIT (one goal), and Wesleyan (no goals), Munro decided to shift from a 4-3-3 in an attempt to find some desperately needed scoring punch.

Good Work

"We did a lot of good work on the formation the last two days," Munro said, "and we think it will show."

"I think it's the strongest formation we can put out," Munro added. The Crimson's major weakness offensively has been a paucity of shots on goal, but Munro hopes he has solved it. "We took more and better shots and distributed the ball better in practice," he said.

Joining Adedeji on the new four man front line (assuming Adedeji can play) will be J. P. Gilbert, Art Faden and LeRoy Thompson. All have improved with the season and hopefully they will break out of their scoring slump today.

Williams, a team similar in style to Wesleyan, will play a 4-3-3 identical to the Crimson's. Unlike the Cardinals, it has had trouble putting the ball in the net. Its strength appears to lie in midfield and on defense, but a 5-0 pasting at the hands of lowly Union College leaves doubtful even the Ephmen's defensive ability.

The game today is a pivotal one for Harvard. Another loss could have an extremely detrimental effect on the Crimson, just as it enters the toughest portion of its season. A win, however, could give Harvard the momentum and confidence it needs for a serious shot at a first division Ivy finish.

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