The Harvard soccer team will take its 1-1 Ivy League record to Hanover today and pit it against a Dartmouth team whose only claim to fame is a plastering 3-1 upset victory over highly-touted Penn.
While the Crimson defeated traditional Ivy League weakling Columbia, 3-0, and lost to a solid Cornell team, 3-0, the Big Green took on the two toughest teams in the league, Browr and Penn, with 2-4 and 3-1 results.
"We've played the two toughest teams in the Ivy League and came out with a split," Dartmouth coach George Beim said yesterday. "As far as I am concerned, that's one better than anyone expected," he added.
Harvard coach Bruce Munro said the Crimson is featuring one of the best defenses in the league and a solid center. "If we could somehow get the first goal in the game, we might win," he said.
The Big Green, however, has exactly what the Crimson lacks. Junior Frank Gallo, highest-scoring forward for Dartmouth in 12 years, scored two goals against Cornell and has a total of six goals for the season.
Consistent Pressure
Gallo will be a strain for the Crimson defense, which has been tested by consistent pressure created by efficient halfback lines.
In the U Conn match, All-American halfback Tim Hunter created opportunities for his forwards time after time, but produced only one goal. Joe Mui and Kip Jordan, the two outstanding halfbacks for Cornell, scored two goals and one goal, respectively, against the booters in last Saturday's contest.
The Crimson has not really been tested by an effective forward, which Dartmouth seems to have in Gallo. A threat at the forward line, however, might turn to Harvard's advantage. If the Crimson fullbacks and halfbacks manage to control the center, they will have isolated the offense by denying it the ball. The game then might be played in the Big Green half of the field, thus giving the offense scoring opportunities.
"Well, if we scored first, I'd put 11 men in front of the goal in the penalty area and they would not be able to score," Munro said, laughing. Munro said that he was not very optimistic, however, because Dartmouth is on its way to becoming a soccer power, winning against Harvard's freshmen teams for the last two years.
The game will be played at 2 p.m. on Dartmouth's Chase Field.
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