When you talk about magic too much, sometimes it just slips away.

Which is what happened to the Harvard men's soccer team in its 2-1 loss to Maine yesterday in Orono, Me.

Harvard's defeat drops the Crimson to 4-3-1 (2-0-1 Ivy) and has seen its impressive start melt to near 500 levels. The loss to Maine was the fourth consecutive game the Crimson has gone without a victory.

Pregame polls ranked Harvard second in New England and Maine eighth, but the Crimson showed why polls mean so little.

Earlier in the season, Harvard Coach Steve Locker had some how tacked the deck in the Crimson's favor, but yesterday, all the team heard was, "go fish."

Harvard fired 20 shots on the Maine net, but only one found its way past Black Bear goalie Seb D'Appolonia.

"Harvard created a lot of chances but just couldn't finish," Maine Assistant Coach Scott Atherly said. "To be honest, luck was on our side today."

The Black Bears scored first, 4:07 into the second half on a direct kick. Maine looked like it would hold on and pull the game out with just one score.

However, the Crimson replied with a goal if its own when junior Joe Bradley knocked in a rebounded shot with seven minutes to play in the game.

But 90 seconds later, Maine broke the suspense for good. Black Bear defender Conor Ward converted a direct kick--the second time in the game this normally rare event occurred.

That's life for the Crimson these days, though. Harvard has been suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune for four games now.

The beating began with a loss at Hartwick that many thought insignificant. But Harvard's woes continued when the squad fell to BU, 4-1. Against Cornell, the Crimson battled to what seemed more like a loss than a 2-2 draw.

And then there was Maine.

"We had absorbed all that pressure for most of the second half and when Harvard scored the immediate reaction is a let down," Atherly said. "But the key is we got the second goal right after Harvard scored. Our guys didn't let up."

Maine midfielder Mike Dumphy did not score either of the Black Bear goals, but he set them up with his constant pressure. The Crimson defense was forced to foul Dumphy, and Maine benefited by getting the two free kicks that it converted to win the game.

Harvard will face Hofstra this Sunday at Ohiri Field at 1:00.

MAINE, 2-1 at Orono, Me. Harvard  0  1  --  1 Maine  0  2  --  2

G: Harvard--Bradley; Maine--Kelly, Ward. A: Harvard--None; Maine--None. S: Harvard--Salisbury (3); Maine--D'Appolina (9).