Although it is still early to pronounce final judgment on the club's chances, Ford remains pleased with the versatility of his forwards and midfielders. "All these players are capable of moving around to several positions," he added.
Ford will generally not employ the 4-4-2 alignment, prevalent much of last year. With the increased offensive firepower there is no need to hang back at midfield, sending just two forwards up front. With that alignment last year, the Crimson lacked a smooth transition from defense to the attack.
One of the most pleasant surprises of the Crimson pre-season training camp (held earlier this month at Prince George's Academy in Newport, R.I.) was reserve wing Steve Higginson. Reporting in top physical shape, the lightning-quick offensive threat is "looking like dynamite," said Ford. "He obviously worked very, very hard over the summer; there is no comparison with last year." Higginson will alternate with Keller-Sarmiento.
If last year was any indication, the club's defense may well salvage games in which the offense falters. Based on a string of previous campaigns, Crimson fans can expect at least a few of those.
Barring injuries, four returning starters should dominate both playing time and their own turn in front of the Crimson net. Senior captain John Duggan leads the troops from the stopper position, with sweeper Peter Sergienko clearing the ball away from the goal. Wingback Andreas Keller-Sarmiento (Mauro's younger brother) and Dennis Perese are slated to flank Duggan and Sergienko.
The younger--but still not the youngest; there's another one on the squad--Keller-Sarmiento started about half of last year's contests, but returned to camp "strong as an ox. He put on weight in all the right areas and got stronger. He's a natural for the (left fullback) position."
Like last year when the Crimson held opponents to well under two goals a game, the defensive quartet whould dispatch their duties quietly and efficiently. Duggan is both the physical and emotional leader of the squad, and over the course of last year developed into the defensive enforcer any successful team needs, especially in the defense-minded Ivy League.
The last line of defense is ultimately the goaltending corps, manned for the Crimson by Erulkar and Walsh. Behind that duo, Phil Coogan may see some limited action. Walsh started out last season as Ford's number one netminder, but injuries to Walsh and some consistently superb play by Erulkar--who started at season's end and posted a 0.98 goals against average--reversed the situation. "Erulkar might have the job right now," Ford said. "He sees himself as a number one goaltender. He has that confidence."
Pushing both seniors may be freshman Gary Schermahoran (Billerica), selected as a high school all-American for his play last year. But Ford cautions that any freshman may have difficulty breaking into the 18-man varsity squad, in spite of a moderately successful recruiting year that included the youngest of three Keller-Sarmientos, Pablo.
For the first time in years, the Crimson has no obvious holes to fill with unknowns or inexperienced players. Still, no one is anticipating--or at least predicting--an Ivy title or an NCAA tournament berth.
Should Ayrault or Mogollon fail to come through with the points, or should the defense falter, the Crimson could fall in an incredibly competitive Ivy League. No team holds a clear edge as a pre-season favorite, although many are pencilling Princeton into the top spot (see sidebar).
Changes in the Harvard schedule could also discourage the Crimson's playoff hopes. For the first time, the squad is part of the Greater Boston circuit, meaning it will take on powers like B.U. and B.C., and Tufts, MIT and Brandeis. National power U.Conn. has been dropped from the slate, along with Williams and Amherst. But the scheduling people more than made up for that by pitting the Crimson against tournament-bound Hartwick, and U.R.I. and UMass.
The B.U.-Harvard match-up is potentially interesting, as the Terriers nosed out the Crimson for the eighth and final regional playoff spot last year. Still, an air of optimism pervaded the Harvard camp last week. "I think we're going to go after it," Ford said, "and barring injuries we should be right up there."
He may not be dreaming. Wait and see.