The Harvard men's soccer team was ranked first in many pre-season polls.

The Crimson (5-3-2 overall, 2-1 Ivy League) returned nine starters from a 1987 team that went undefeated in the regular season to capture an Ivy title and advance to the NCAA semifinals.

Opposing coaches, fans and the media talked about this season as the "golden year"--the year Harvard would bring home its first NCAA championship trophy since 1904.

It would be an understatement to say that expectations were high.

It would be an overstatement to say the Crimson now has a valid chance of receiving an NCAA tournament bid.

What happened?

Maybe expectations had something to do with it.

"Harvard's a great team, everyone knows how talented Harvard is," Dartmouth Coach Bobby Clark said after his Big Green downed the Crimson, 2-1, Saturday in Hanover, N.H. "At present though, maybe they're having a problem coping with the past two seasons. They just didn't look as confident or as fluid this year."

A Pair of Shues: There were 22 sets of cleats on the field in Dartmouth Saturday afternoon--and two Shues.

Dartmouth senior Andy Shue, who started at midfield, is currently second on the Big Green scoring list with three goals and four assists for 10 points. Brother John, a Harvard sophomore, was moved up from J.V. at the beginning of the season and has seen action in several games--including a good portion of Saturday's second half.

But Big Brother got the best of him--Andy earned the assist on Dartmouth's game-winning goal.

Through the Mill: As a rookie two years ago, junior Derek Mills led the Crimson in scoring, earned Ivy Rookie of the Year honors and was named Freshman of the Year by Soccer America.

But for the past two seasons, Mills has been hampered by injuries. This fall, Mills reaggravated a summer knee injury two weeks into the season. Although far from 100 percent, Mills showed signs of his old frontfield prowess--scoring Harvard's lone goal midway through the opening half.

The start of a comeback? More like a goodbye goal.

Today Mills will have arthroscopic surgery to remove some cartilage from the nagging knee. The minor operation will bench him for another three weeks--virtually the rest of the season.

Update on the South: In 1987, two teams finished the regular season with undefeated marks.

One--Harvard--was nationally ranked and known around the country as a major threat in the NCAA playoffs.

The other--Centenary College in Shreveport, La.--was known as the alma mater of Celtic star Robert Parish. Despite a 21-0 regular season mark, the Gentlemen never received mention in the national rankings.

Absent seven players from last year's squad--including five starters--Centenary is trying its best to keep up the winning tradition. After a 2-4 start (including losses to then-fourth-ranked SMU and NAIA leader Midwestern St.) the Gentlemen have swept their last seven contests.