For the Harvard men's soccer team, the bad luck seems like it will never lets up.

Last Saturday, the Crimson outplayed but lost to 15th-ranked Columbia at Ohiri Field.

Today Harvard (2-2 overall, 0-1 Ivy) hopes to reverse its fortune in Storrs, Conn., where the Crimson faces Connecticut in a 3 p.m. match.

Although the Huskies (3-3-1) may not be the toughest opponent in the Crimson's schedule, which is widely regarded as the most challenging in the country, Connecticut is one of the top teams in the region and traditionally has posed a challenge to Harvard.

Last year, the Crimson outdueled the Huskies at Ohiri Field, 2-1, on the strength of a dramatic late goal by senior midfielder Don Daigle.

This year's contest should be a close game, as well.

Both teams have struggled on offense and played solid defense, although Connecticut did yield five goals to Wake Forest in the second game of the season.

The Huskies, who are 3-0 at home, are led by senior forward Rob Lindell (3 goals, 1 assist, 7 points) and linemate Corey Turnage (2-3--7).

Junior netminder John Salvatore has done most of the goal keeping for Connecticut, recording 29 saves and compiling a 1.74 goals-against-average in seven games.

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The women's soccer team plays one of its toughest games this Saturday when it travels to Providence to face defending Ivy League champion Brown.

But the Bears do not appear to be as ferocious as they have been in the recent past.

Brown got off to a poor 0-2-1 start this season, but faced some tough competition. The Bears fell to North Carolina, 8-0, in the season opener. Brown then lost to Duke, 3-1, and tied Rhode Island, 1-1.

Broken Streak

But the big news came last Saturday when Yale handed Brown its first Ivy loss in 19 consecutive league games, when it edged the Bears, 1-0, in New Haven, Conn. Brown had not previously not lost a game since it fell to Cornell in 1987.

If Harvard is to grab the Ivy title, its greatest challange may be Cornell.

The Big Red defeated 18th-ranked Rutgers last weekend and subsequently was ranked 14th in the nation according to yesterday's NCAA top-20 poll.

Cornell senior midfielder Dina Grossman received Ivy League Player of the Week Honors. She has tallied four goals and three assists this season.