New England's Top Teams Feature Physical Defense

Harvard and Brown, ranked one and two in New England soccer standings and headed toward a crucial match in the NCAA playoffs, will meet today at 11 a.m. on the Business School field to determine the Ivy League champion.

Brown, which finished eighth in the national polls, has a strong defensive nucleus that has led the Bruins to a 9-1-1 record. Anchored by two-time All-Ivy fullback Chip Young, the Bruins are known for their rugged and aggressive play that has captured six Ivy League titles in the past seven years.

The Crimson, undefeated in eight matches, leads the Ivy standings by three points with only two games remaining in the league. A tie or victory today would give Harvard its second consecutive title.

But more is at stake in today's match than just the Ivy championship. Brown coach Ciff Stevenson was very upset with the NCAA announcement of playoff games last Monday. The NCAA regulations maintain that four teams in the region must be chosen by November 9, but there is no stipulation that the four teams must be ranked immediately.

"I think it was a serious mistake for the selection committee to rate Harvard number one when they knew this game would be played today," Stevenson said. "We'll find out who's number one during the game."

Home Field

Usually home field is an advantage because of the partisan crowd, but Stevenson denied that factor. "We'll have as many if not more people than Harvard at the game," he said. "If any Harvard students show up we should draw a crowd of 6000 people."

Harvard-Brown games have traditionally been rough, physical contests. Both teams have extremely large fullback lines. But Stevenson felt unnecessary aggression was the fault of the Crimson.

"I do hope Bogovich and Gomez will play good soccer," Stevenson said, "and none of this kicking the legs of the opposition when the ball is at the other side of the field. I saw that in the Harvard-Dartmouth game and it only lowers my estimation of them as players."

Harvard coach Bruce Munro felt that Brown's style of play led to physically contested matches. "Brown plays a hustling, aggressive type of attack," Munro said, "and their enthusiasm often leads to contact."

While the defensive aspect of the game should be a closely fought match-up, Harvard has a distinct advantage over the Bruins on offense. Except for a lop-sided win over Yale, Brown has not established any large margins of victory. In four Ivy games. the Bruins have scored only six goals.

"We haven't had any inside scoring threat on the offensive line," Stevenson said. "It's a disappointment that we haven't had a scoring leader, one guy who could score 12 or 13 goals."

Stevenson was envious of the Crimson's forward line. "You have four outstanding forwards that give the team tremendous balance," he said. "Add to that Wilmot, who is as good as any back in the country, Ekama, and Axten, and you see why Harvard is winning. Even their reserve forward Papagianis impressed me."

Bill Meyers will start in goal today according to a system of rotation developed by him and Shep Messing. In a meeting with Munro, Meyers indicated that the Ivy League title and his final Yale game meant a lot to him. Therefore, Meyers will play today and next Saturday while Messing will start on Tuesday against W.P.I. and next Tuesday against Brown or Middlebury if the Crimson wins against the Engineers.

If Harvard should continue in the NCAA playoffs. Messing will be in goal in the semifinals, and Meyers will start in the quarterfinals and the finals.