Booters Bow to Dartmouth in Overtime

Dartmouth's Jim Lohner hit clutch overtime goal as the Big Green downed the Crimson men's soccer team Saturday in a tight 2-1 decision at the Business School field.

Losing its third straight Ivy League contest, the Crimson again lacked the intensity displayed against Hartwick two weeks ago, and rarely challenged Dartmouth for loose balls at midfield.

"We didn't close them down," captain John Duggan said after the game. "I guess we just weren't psyched."

Indeed, the Crimson could hardly keep up with Dartmouth in the first half, and allowed the Green to control the ball in its backfield and make long passes down the wings.

Sweeper than Keeper

Dartmouth's patience eventually paid off as Tony D'Antontion beat Crimson sweeper Ken Blye and keeper Peter Walsh at 43:11 to give the Hanover contingent a 1-0 advantage.

The one-goal lead held up through most of the second 45 minutes of play, and tempers flared as the Crimson failed to penetrate Dartmouth's defense.

After numerous substitutions and position changes, Harvard finally found a combination that clicked. Andreas Keller-Sarmiento made a bone-crunching tackle near the left sideline, controlled the ball and passed up the wing to his brother, Mauro, who dumped it off for Lance Ayrault.

After a deflected pass, Leo Lanzillo, coming up from his midfield position, alertly set up Duggan, who beat Dartmouth keeper Andy Krahling with a right-footed drive just inside the right post.

Momentum has clearly shifted as Duggan's tally sent the game into overtime, Harvard's second extended contest in the last three outings.

Walsh Beaten

Harvard's hopes were dashed, however, with only 3:47 gone in the first of two mandatory extended periods. Walsh, who stopped eight shots on the day, came out of the crease and punched away a high Dartmouth cross only to have Lohner settle under the ball and pound it into the empty net.

Lohner's goal was the difference despite some strong second-overtime performances by John Lyons and Rich Berkman, who stopped Dartmouth at midfield and helped keep the ball on offense.

Describing his team's performance, coach George Ford could not ignore the earlier problems at midfield. "We allowed too much," he said. "We didn't get the ball upfield quickly. We were indecisive and not aggressive."

Clearly disappointed by the loss, Ford added. "They were a little more hungry."

The Dartmouth loss comes at a particularly bad time, with the Crimson facing a hectic three-game week. The booters face cross-town rival Boston University this afternoon on the Business School pitch before moving on to Kingston Wednesday to face the University of Rhode Island.

The main game of the week, however, comes Saturday morning, when the Tigers of Princeton come to Cambridge to give the Crimson its fourth shot at an Ivy League victory.

"We need an Ivy win," Mauro Keller-Sarmiento said. "We've been much stronger in the other [non-league] games. We haven't been up to par in the league games."

The whole week, though, will be important as the booters need some momentum to face the second half of the season.