As Mauro Keller-Sarmiento approaches, you are at once struck by the way he moves. Graceful, and fluid, the Adams House senior dodges tray-laden classmates with an ease that is rarely found in food lines around the campus.

And just as easily as he can swing around that woman who decides at the last second to put some croutons on her salad, on the soccer field, Mauro can beat that defender who has come up to steal the ball or break his shins.

As one of Harvard's leading scorers over the last four years. Keller-Sarmiento (5-8, 135 pounds), has often been marked two or three on one, but taking the ball away from a player with such a strong sense of body control at the game isn't always easy.

International

Born in West Germany. Keller-Sarmiento was "playing soccer since I could walk," allowing him to gain what he calls "an intuition for the game."

While living in Argentina and different parts of Western Europe as a diplomat's son, Mauro played some organized soccer for the International American schools that he attended, but much of his soccer education was much more informal.

"I was always playing with my brothers. There are four of us so it was an easy pick-up game," he said.

When he came to Harvard as a freshman, he was quickly surprised at the game he found here.

"I was impressed, or shocked probably, by the intensity and the toughness of play. It's not great soccer, but it's a very physical game."

"I was mostly impressed, though, by my teammates. People had told me that soccer didn't exist in the states, but there are some very good players here and around the league." he said.

As a freshman, Mauro was used almost exclusively on the wing, a position he had not played extensively before.

"I used to play mostly midfield, but it was not a difficult switch. Wing fit my abilities. I wasn't really strong enough to play the middle here, and I was quick enough to play on the wing."

For most players, changing from the middle of the field to the outside, where movement of the ball is extremely important, might pose a problem. For Mauro, though, graceful adaptation is one of his strongest suits.

This year, interestingly enough, Coach George Ford has moved Mauro back to his original position, center midfield, and although to all observers he has played well, giving the booters needed control in the middle of the field, this season has been ironically his most difficult.

"It's been our most frustrating year. We thought we would do at least as well as last year (10-4-1)." said the little Argentinian. "I've always wanted three things from playing soccer--enjoying myself, having a good time with the guys, and winning. This year the third one hasn't been there."