"They were playing a soft zone," Stavrianidis reported, "and they weren't coming up to defend our passes."

Crimson Coach Jape Shattuck denied that defensive lapses had led to the Husky goals, saying instead that "UConn put some great plays together."

The Huskies, cheered on by the partisan throng and Coach Joe Morrone--who was so excited by his team's first goal that he broke his clipboard--put together some more great plays in the second half.

Santi Vigil and Dan Donigan each tallied in the second frame to give the hosts their final four-goal margin.

One bright spot for Harvard was the return of midfielder Nikhal Singh, who had missed the Columbia game with a bruised kidney.

The 5-ft., 11-in. senior played very well and was instrumental early in the game in clearing the ball out of Harvard's end.

The Crimson plays its home opener tomorrow against Brandeis--an important contest for the booters, who earlier today dropped out of the national rankings for the first time all year.

"In terms of performance, effort, and application, they're playing very well," Shattuck said of his team. "The credit today should go to UConn.

"This loss diminishes our chances in New England soccer very much," Shattack continued.

Only two teams from the region will get bids to the NCAA tournament at the end of the season, and the Crimson has dropped to third in the New England polls behind UConn and Yale.

THE NOTEBOOK: Freshman Stephen Hall, the world class goalie from England whom the NCAA has ruled ineligible for the season, made his first appearance at a Harvard game yesterday. He was listed on the program as a Crimson manager.