Varsity soccer coach Bruce Munro will face an unsolvable problem today when the Crimson meets Cornell at Ithaca. "I hate being the favorite. I'd much rather we were always the underdog." Munro said.
As long as Harvard continues to win, Munro will be in the troublesome favorite's role, for a national poll of college soccer coaches ranked the Crimson sixth in the nation after its 2-0 victory over Columbia last Saturday. The closest competition for Harvard, 5-0, according to the poll will be from Penn, which was ranked tenth.
Munro is not going out of his way to change that high ranking. He has spent the week experimenting with Harvard's potent offense, trying to find an even stronger attack. Against Cornell today he plans to continually reshuffle the forward line.
Wings Shifted
Wings Charlie Thomas and Solomon Gomez will be shifted to the inside offensive positions during the game, and forwards Pete Bogovich and Phil Kydes will move to the outside wing slots. Sophomore Russ Bell also will see plenty of action at the right wing spot, allowing Munro to experiment with Gomez at ???? half.
Behind the line, Harvard's lineup will feature the same squad that shut out an undefeated Columbia team last week. The only question mark is center fullback Chris Wilmot who broke a toe in the game against the Lions. Wilmot has been scrimmaging with the team since Thursday's practice and is expected to start.
In the net for Harvard will be goalie Bill Meyers, who has a string of 18 consecutive scoreless periods against the opposition. "I knew Meyers was capable of this kind of play." Munro said, "but he has been outstanding considering his knee injury." The Crimson goalie's knee is still heavily taped.
On the Line
Meyer's streak will be on the line today against Cornell's Nick Alexandridis. The Big Red star has been the Ivy League scoring champion for two straight years, and last Saturday he opened the season with three goals and an assist in a 4-3 victory over Princeton.
The remainder of the Cornell squad is not quite equal to Alexandridis caliber but the Big Red has other advantages. At Ithaca, Cornell always draws a large partisan crowd that can create team momentum from the sidelines.
The Big Red also is known for its extremely aggressive play, and Harvard may have to show both talent and muscle to handle Cornell. Alexandridis, again the leader of the team, was thrown out of last year's game.
Since undefeated Penn is not playing an Ivy match today, a victory would move the Crimson into a tie for first place in the league.
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