A polished Wesleyan soccer team handed Harvard its second straight shut-out loss yesterday in a 2-0 contest that proved once again that the Crimson cannot win when Chris Ohiri doesn't play. Suffering its third defeat in as many games, the varsity has managed to score only one goal in its last 264 minutes of action.
Wesleyan wasted little time in carrying the game to the Crimson secondary. Only a good stop by goalie Whitney prepared the Cardinals from converting a clever pass play into a first minute tally. Seconds later, fullback Terry Winslow broke up a two-on-one fast break to thwart another possible score. Wesleyan Brian Sharp followed with a shot that missed just to the left of the goal.
After a brief varsity offensive failed, Cardinals were back at the Crimson goal peppering Whitney and keeping busy. Halfback Larry Coburn broke up the Wesleyan drive and Williams stopped several before the ball crossed midfield again.
Time and again halfback Tony Davies, Winslow and Williams turned Wesleyan threats aside with Williams sending goal kicks almost to midfield. But the Crimson offensive was unable to keep the ball in Cardinal territory. Toward the end of the period, goalie Whitney made three saves in less than a minute.
Wesleyan finally made the scoring column at 3:00 of the second period. The tally came on a picture pass play in front of the goal that left Whitney with no chance at Cardinal Andy Hult's hard shot.
With Wesleyan leading 1-0, the Crimson front line suddenly came alive--out hustling and out-shooting the Cardinals for the remainder of the second half. A pass from outside right Eb Klufio across to fellow lineman Sam Thompson almost resulted in a goal midway through the period.
"Klu" Nearly Scores
Kluflo narrowly missed the nets moments later on a head shot pass from Mike Kramer. Tony Davies booted one over the goal posts and Al Chang (at center forward in the absence of Ohiri) also missed on a shot before the first half ended.
The third period was another toss-up, with the Crimson having a slight edge in shooting. But Wesleyan goalie Pete Babin was equal to each varsity onslaught and cleared the ball effectively, using overhand baseball passes to his halfbacks.
Early in the fourth period, Cardinal linemen Brian Sharp and Pete Sipples broke loose for a near score. Goalie Whitney literally pulled the ball out from under Sipples to stop the fast break.
Sharp, leading scorer in the New England League, countered with a goal at 1:25 of the period. The tally put Wesleyan ahead 2-0 and gave the 5 ft., 6 in center forward his eighth goal in four games.
The Cardinals took full command of the closing minutes of the contest and kept the ball in Crimson territory until the final gun. Only a diving save by Whitney (his 17th of the game) and several preliminary stops by Williams and Winslow kept the Cardinals from scoring a third time.
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