It was as if their dream happened one year too early.

As juniors, Tom McLaughlin, Ricky Le and Toure McCluskey enjoyed an almost flawless season which included a string of 16 straight wins and a second-round NCAA Tournament appearance.

On the heels of such a breakout year, the expectations of the three seniors in their final Harvard soccer campaign became that much greater.

Unfortunately, the dream season to close out their careers was supposed to be another run through the NCAA Tournament. Instead, reality set in, as a hard-fought 3-2 regular-season loss to Hartwick on a cold day in New York signaled the end of it all.

"Our best year was my junior year because we had bragging rights in the Ivy League," McLaughlin said. "This season didn't go the way we would have liked, but that's just the way it is. Our underclassmen have a lot of experience under their belts, though, and they should be ready to go next year."

That one game capped off a disappointing season in which the two-time defending Ivy champions struggled throughout the season, finishing in fifth place with a 2-2-3 league record. McLaughlin, who currently plays with the New England Revolution, had yet another solid season at the striker position, notching 12 goals and eight assists en route to Ivy Player of the Year honors, but even the Harvard captain's firepower was not enough to make up for the team's youth.

With 10 sophomores and five freshman decorating the roster, Harvard was most susceptible in the midfield, where the loss of Will Kohler '97--two-time Ivy League Player of the Year--was most apparent.

Beginning with the first contest of the year, a 1-0 loss to Pennsylvania, Harvard struggled to connect passes and effectively move the ball upfield to McLaughlin. Botched passes were more frequent than solid offensive opportunities, as was evidenced by the nil on the scoreboard.

"We had four sophomores in the midfield, so none of them were key starters last fall," said Harvard Coach Steve Locker following the loss. "They were all players, but that was their first start. So there is a little lack of experience there. It was a little sloppy at times."

That one defeat, however, was not necessarily a signal of what was to come for the Harvard squad, considering that last year's remarkable 16-2 campaign began in similar fashion with a season-opening loss to Cornell.

"It's easy to say, `Well, last year we lost our opener and went on to win 16 straight,' but I don't want to get into that routine," Locker said. "You want to win your first game."

It became evident throughout the remainder of the 1997 season that those two teams, though separated by only one year, were starkly different. A subsequent tie to Boston College was followed by two wins against Columbia and Providence.

Record: 7-6-4; 2-2-3 Ivy

Coach: Steve Locker

Highlights: Tom McLaughlin named Ivy Player of Year, drafted by MLS' New England Revolution