Four players will alternate at the three starting spots: co-captain Grag Jackmauh, who missed 13 games last year with an injury, Al Senior, who received All-Ivy notice two seasons ago as a sophomore but took last year off, Hank Leopold, who scored 13 points as a midfielder in 1976 and shone when switched to defense late in the season, and Chris Ecker, who started all 15 games last spring.
Riding the Pines
Waiting on the sidelines will be Craig Beling, who has already made starting appearances this year on both the football and wrestling teams, sophomore Mac DeCamp, and high school All-American Mike Kennedy.
The starting job in goal is up for grabs. Jim Michelson is back after posting the third best save percentage in the Ivy League last season, but he has faced a strong challenge from last year's backup, sophomore Kenny First. After playing on the riding attack and notching a crucial goal against Brown last spring, Daily Kennedy has returned to play goalie, his high school position. Blessed with more quickness and better stick-handling than the other two, he will continue to make appearances on attack but may be starting in the net by the end of the season.
Sweet Flower of Youth
So the stickmen enter the 1977 season with a wealth of veteran talent everywhere but on the midfield. Significantly, Scalise notes, that is where "the game is won or lost." But with time, the young middies may well develop into the best players on the team.
Fortunately today's opponent, Mass Maritime, is the one foe on the schedule apparently incapable of beating Harvard, regardless of experience. Last year, the Crimson embarrassed the Tritons, 19-4.
But after the let's-see-how-many-goals-we-can-score opener come games with Hofstra and Penn sandwiched around don'-look-ahead-or-you'll-be-upset games at C.W. Post and Adelphi.
Last year's seniors played in top form all season, often carrying their less experienced teammates. The outcome of this year's early battles may well depend on how well White, McKenzie, Jackmauh and Michelson, the current seniors, can hold up until the young midfields round into top form.
And how well Harvard does in these early contests might well determine whether the season ends on May 14th in Hanover, or whether the team is still playing when the NCAA holds its championship get-together.