Natural grass.

The real surface to play soccer on, at least in the eyes of the NCAA and the Harvard men's soccer team.

This Sunday the Crimson (8-3-3) will host the Boston University Terriers (16-1-3) in second-round NCAA playoff competition--on grass, not astroturf.

Sunday's 1 p.m. game, which had previously been scheduled for the artificial turf of B.U.'s Nickerson Field, will be played on the grass of Ohiri Field. "It does make it better for us in terms of our own play," Crimson Coach Jape Shattuck said.

And just a little better is all Harvard needs against the Terriers.

In their only previous meeting of the year, B.U. edged the Crimson, 2-1. But that game was on artificial turf, it was not cold out, and their second goal came on an unusual Harvard defensive misplay.

"It didn't look like Harvard, we usually attack on the full length of the field," the coach said of the first contest. "The turf took away about 20 to 30 percent of our effectiveness."

The grass, though, "exposes our strengths more than the artificial turf. Our large field makes the play of our flanks a key factor, which is limited on the turf," said Shattuck.

Layoff

Another difference between the squads that the Terriers have not played in over two weeks, while the Crimson is coming off a tough victory over Yale in first-round tournament play.

"They have not played in 15 days, and that is not very good for the competitive spirit," Shattuck said. During those same 15 days, Harvard has played five games, in both the heat of Florida and the cold of Cambridge, which should also be an advantage.

Apart from being a bit rusty, "the weather may affect B.U. because they are used to a 'perfect' field and have many more warm-weather players," Shattuck said.

The field, the recent play, and the weather are all in Harvard's favor, but no one can win without goals. That was the Crimson's problem last weekend--no goals.

Shattuck has a solution to get his offensive machines, strikers Derek Mills and John Catliff, back into their usual threatening form. "Against Yale, we were fully integrated except for the two strikers we passed pretty conservatively. This time we will try a few more risky passes through the defense.

"Passes that we can squeeze through to Mills and Catliff will be incredibly dangerous, anything that get in front of the net is almost a sure goal," Shattuck said.

Harvard's defense will have its hands full with freshman John Glynn (12 goals) and Francis Okaroh (11 goals), who lead the B.U. offense.

If it can defeat the top-ranked New England team and fifth-ranked national club, the Crimson will have another chance of playing--on the grass and in the cold of Cambridge.