First practice after an away loss to Columbia, and Harvard men's soccer coach Stephen Locker had his troops gathered around a chalkboard, discussing the fundamental strategies and techniques of defensive play.

A case of "back to the drawing board," no matter how you look at it.

Of course, the game of soccer is more complex than that. A little luck at one end, or some great goalkeeping at the other, and mistakes in one's back four can disappear on the scoreboard.

But Saturday, Columbia took advantage of its sparse chances as Harvard constantly struggled with its finishing in a 4-2 loss which drops the Crimson to an even 1-1-0 in Ivy League play (1-2-0 overall).

It was the Lions' first Ivy League game; 15th-ranked Columbia stands at 4-0-1 after a less-than-grueling "preseason" schedule against New York area competition.

Locker probably wishes the Crimson had it so soft; with UNH and Clemson on its immediate horizon, Harvard must find a way to plug the holes in a defense which let in five goals in 120 minutes Wednesday against UConn.

"It's not just the defenders' faults; its the entire team which could use some improvement," sophomore Will Kohler said.

No argument here, although the Lions' Rikki Dadason collect his two early goals in spectacular style: one on a nicely-curled set piece from just outside the area over the Harvard wall and into the upper corner; the other on a terrific side-volley that dinged off the inside of the post past Crimson goalkeeper Ned Carlson.

"We actually outshot [Columbia] 9-5 in the first half," junior Derek Swaim said. "[Carlson] played really well, but when they got chances, they really finished them."

Sandwiched in between the two Columbia goals was a corker from Kohler himself, set up by a nice backheel by fellow sophomore T.J. Carella. Steve McAnulty had no chance in the Lions' goal, and at least momentarily, the game was knotted at 1-1.

But by the time Carella was tripped up on a slashing dribble move around the 65-minute mark (and converted the resultant penalty shot), the game was all but over. Alon Bolokan scored on a 25-yard bullet just before the interval, and Mike Payne scored his team-leading fifth goal of the year early in the second half.

"It's funny, because I didn't feel we were outplayed [by one of the top teams in the country], and it showed me that we can compete with anyone," senior captain Pepper Brill said.

"It does get tough, though, when every team we play is a great team. If we want to make an impact on the national scene, it has to be this way, but sometimes it would be nice to play some easier competition."

The loss doesn't mean the end of Harvard's Ivy League title aspirations; no champion has gone unscathed through its league schedule in the memories of this year's graduating class. But in addition to Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown and Princeton all have clean sheets to-date, so there is precious little room for error.

This afternoon, New Hampshire, comes to Ohiri Field to take on the Crimson at 3:30. And Brill senses that after today's practice, maybe "things are sorted out" along the lines Locker wants.