The Harvard men's soccer team has a thing for the number five. For the second time in the three-game-old season, the booters tallied that many goals, handing the Brandeis a 5-2 decision yesterday.

Goal production has been a problem in the past for the Crimson, shut out six times in 15 games last year. The current 3.33 goals-per-game average compares well with 1.2 last season.

What made the difference against Brandeis was what was missing in the booters' 5-0 loss to defending Ivy champ Columbia last week enough control of the midfield to carry out a sustained attack.

With senior captain Leo Lanzillo returning from a hamstring injury that kept him from the Crimson's first two matches, and freshman Paul Nicholas sliding smoothly into the 4-4-2 lineup, Harvard dictated exactly what would happen in the center third of the field.

What happened was plenty of balls to the feet of the Crimson's front line and very few to the Judges' forwards.

As an indication of the booters' control, Harvard scored in bunches, scoring and then striking again while Brandeis was a little to frantic to equalize.

With 16 minutes left in the first half, sophomore forward John Catliffe found a misplayed Judge clearance on his right foot, and after dribbling around Brandeis goal-keeper Jim Leahy, connected for his third goal of the season.

One minute later, Lanzillo slid a pass to Catliffe, breaking into the penalty box on the left. The transfer from the University of British Columbia took the ball past two defenders and hit a curling drive past Leahy at 30:00.

But Mother Nature had a small hand in Harvard's scoring, with the wind turning the northernmost goal into a vacuum. When Brandeis switched ends at the half, the Judges got a few gusts of their own.

Less than two minutes into the second stanza. Judge forward Jim McCully found halfback Steve Stone unmarked in the right side of the penalty box. Stone hit a 12-footer that goalie Phil Coogan got a hand on but couldn't stop.

Brandeis tallied again when McCully ran in unmarked on a Greg Allen comer kick and converted on a header at 66:57.

"The wind was worth two goals," said Coach Jape Shattuck. "We knew we had to get ahead with the wind because holding onto a lead is always easier."

Harvard's stronger halfback play let the booters recover quickly. After goalmouth pressure and shots by Catliffe and forward Lane Kenworthy, reserve midfielder Glen Brack knocked in a rebound with 22.38 remaining.

Again one minute later, Harvard notched another, with Kenworthy taking a header from Catliffe and shoving it past Leahy at 68:27.

Catliffe finished the afternoon with a hat trick on the Crimson's last tally. He blasted a bending last footer on a direct free kick from about 23 yards with 11:07 remaining.

"I'm not supposed to take them [free kicks], but I just felt like I wanted to take it." Catliffe said of the final goal.