AMHERST, Mass.--It had to happen. It was just a matter of time. On the practice field this week. On the team bus as it weaved its way past the foliage buffs taking advantage of the Indian Summer afternoon along western Massachusetts' narrow back roads. It was a feeling. You knew that this was THE game.

Working Together

Harvard's varsity soccer team, having lubed its sputtering offensive machinery with a seven-goal outburst in Saturday's alumni scrimmage, was ready to roll, and they did just that, pasting Amherst, 3-0, here yesterday.

And it easily could have been 8-0, or 10-0. Except for short lapses at the beginning of each half, during which Amherst accumulated most of their measly 13-shot total, the Crimson totally dominated play.

The fullbacks, directed by Captain Jim Langton, controlled the midfield, rarely allowing Amherst to penetrate more than a few yards into Harvard's defensive end. More important, they consistently turned the Lord Jeffs' infrequent offensive thrusts around, converting them into fast-break outlet passes to streaking wings and halfbacks.

The result was innumerable scoring opportunities for Harvard's aggressive front line. For 30 minutes, they were unable to capitalize, despite a variety of shots and headers which either went wide or were steered clear by Rob Cole, Amherst's acrobatic goaltender. At 32:45 of the first half, the scoring drought that had devastated the Crimson for nearly seven halves of official playing time was ended.

Lee Nelson started the scoring play with a cross to junior Dave Eaton. Eaton shot, collected his own rebound, and fed quickly to freshman Mauro Keller-Sarmiento, who drilled it past the fallen netminder. Harvard continued its ferocious attack, but the first half ended with the score at 1-0.

The second half started slowly. For several minutes the Jeffs fought gallantly to get back into the game. Again it was the Crimson fullbacks, particularly vet rans Langton and John Sanacore, who turned the momentum back in Harvard's favor with tenacious defense and sharp, counter-attacking passes.

The midfielders and forwards responded with this season's best 45 minutes of soccer. Eaton tallied the booter's second goal, taking a slick pass from Nelson, squeezing through two defensemen and firing a low shot past goalie Cole. Twenty minutes later, Steve Yakopec took a beautiful Michael Smith lead and sprinted past the fatigued fullbacks for the game's final score.

While it's difficult to single out individual stars in a sparkling team effort such as yesterday's, special kudos must go to Lee Nelson, Michael Smith and freshman keeper Peter Walsh; Nelson and Smith for their initiation of offensive thrusts, and Walsh (seven saves) for his confident play subbing for the injured Billy Blood.

Defending Ivy champ Cornell comes to town Saturday morning, giving the one-and-five squad a chance to show that the turnaround is for real.