The Harvard soccer team passed its first major test of the season on Saturday by defeating Cornell at Ithaca, 3-2. Going into the game, the Crimson was ranked fourth in the NCAA; Cornell was ranked fifth.

Felix Adedeji once again led the attack by scoring two goals, both assisted by center fullback Chris Wilmot. Wilmot scored the other Crimson goal on a penalty shot when Adedeji was fouled on a break-away.

Cornell had the definite edge in the first half, but Harvard gained the lead on a corner kick by Russ Bell in the second period. Wilmot headed the cross to Adedeji who hit the inside of the right goal post with another head shot.

Cornell increased its control in the third period and scored two goals within two minutes. Victor Huerta, one of Cornell's three junior college All-America players, tied the game on a penalty shot, and with ten seconds left in the period, Andy Rosenberg scored off a corner kick.

"At that point it looked as if we were a beaten team," Wilmot said, "but we immediately started to gain momentum, and the last 15 minutes of the game was the best soccer we've played all season."

With six minutes remaining Adedeji took a pass in the middle from Wilmot, moved to the right around several fullbacks, and then hit the far corner with a hard, low shot.

Two minutes later Adedeji once again got free by moving to the right, but he was fouled by Cornell's Bill Murray before he could get the shot off. Wilmot secured the victory with his second successful penalty shot of the season.

Murray, another former junior college All-America player, was playing Adedeji man-to-man, but he proved unequal to the task. Adedeji raised his goal total for the season to nine, eight of which have come in the last three games.

But while the Crimson offense sputtered for three periods, the defensive unit remained imperturbable under constant pressure. "I still think we have the best college defense in the country," assistant coach Elliot Klein said. "We have yet to give up a goal on an offensive play. Cornell's two goals were on a corner kick and a penalty shot," he said.

A great deal of the pressure was psychological. Throughout the game Cornell's Huerta harassed Crimson players with taunts and maneuvers which the referees weren't meant to see. He was finally kicked out of the game in the fourth period.

"The hero of Saturday's game was Chris Wilmot," Klein said. "He was taking fouls all day, and when we were down 2-1, his attitude was exemplary. He kept the defense together, and inspired our final quarter push."

Cornell was able to keep up constant pressure by massing their players in the vicinity of the ball--a sign of a very good team. Operating out of a basic 4-2-4 formation. Cornell would shift to a 4-4-2 when on defense, and when attacking there would often be eight Cornell players around the penalty area.

With Emanuel Ekama still testing a sore ankle, and Nourie Harrower suffering from the flu. Harvard was unable to control play at midfield. Shifting out of their short passing game, the Harvard backs tried to pinpoint individual forwards with long passes.

"We were outnumbered in the center, and we degenerated into a kick-and-run style of play which is antagonistic to our whole philosophy," Klein said.

The Crimson still managed to outshoot Cornell, 16-15. "Any team that is ahead of Harvard with eight minutes left has obviously played a good game," Cornell coach Dan Wood said after the game. Ivy League Soccer Standings   W.  L.  T Harvard  2  0  0 Penn  2  0  0 Yale  1  0  1 Brown  1  1  0 Cornell  1  1  0 Columbia  1  2  0 Dartmouth  0  2  0 Princeton  0  2  0

Saturday's Scores:

Harvard 3

Brown 7

Yale 4

Cornell 2

Dartmouth 2

Columbia 1