If distance makes the heart grow fonder, the Harvard men's soccer team should be longing for a return to postseason play this year.

After suffering through a disappointing 6-7-4 (2-2-3 Ivy) season in 1997 and a fourth-place finish in the league standings, the Crimson failed to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Now Harvard hopes to regain the form that captured two of the last four Ivy League titles.

"Our goal is to get back to the Tournament," said captain Andrew Lundquist. "With the talent we have, I think we should be in good shape."

The most difficult part of returning to NCAAs for the Crimson will be replacing its two First-Team All-Ivy players, Tom McLaughlin '98 and Ricky Le '98. McLaughlin was also the 1997 Ivy League Player of the Year and the league's scoring leader, accounting for over 40 percent of Harvard's offensive production.

"Tom is going to be difficult to replace, but our core of players is back," said junior midfielder Ryan Keeton.

"In one sense we are lucky that we only lost three players," said senior sweeper Lee Williams. "Obviously we're going to miss Tommy's points, but we also have other people who can score."

Replacing McLaughlin will be no easy task, but the Crimson might have the talent to do it. Harvard returns eight starters from last year's squad, including Keeton and fellow junior midfielder and All-Ivy Second-Teamer Will Hench.

Hench is Harvard's leading returning scorer, having tallied five goals and three assists in 1997.

"The play of Will Hench and Ryan Keeton will be critical to our success," Williams said. "They were two of our biggest playmakers last year."

Most of the Crimson's experience, however, lies in its defense. Returning in goal is two-time All-Ivy selection senior Jordan Dupuis. Last season Dupuis posted a 1.18 goals against average and .822 save percentage while recording five shutouts.

Williams, a two-time Second-Team All-Ivy selection, anchors a solid defensive unit in front of Dupuis, and junior Paul Cantagallo returns for another year as Harvard's stopper.

Lundquist, one of the league's best marking backs, and junior back Chris Rollins, a newcomer, round out a defense that should be stingy with its opponents this year.

"Our backs move the ball well, and they open the field for our midfielders," Keeton said. "We're going to be a good counterattacking team."

The Crimson's biggest question mark is scoring. McLaughlin's graduation leaves a void in Harvard's offense that must be filled quickly if the Crimson is to battle for an Ivy title in 1998.

Some of the load might be carried by juniors Chinezi Chijioke and Ryan Kelly. Chijioki is the Crimson's second leading returning scorer, and he looks to build on the productive second half of the season he had in 1997. Kelly moves up from his marking back position of last season.

"We have a lot of talented players, and our scoring should come from a lot of sources this year," Lundquist said. "We are going to be harder to shut down this year."

Even with all the returning talent, Harvard's success may hinge on how quickly the newcomers mature.

The Crimson welcomes 12 freshmen this year, including three forwards and four midfielders, many of whom will vie for starting spots. High school All-American Yoshio Keneko and Somerville product Nick Lenicheck top the list of rookies who have the potential to contribute immediately.

"We're pretty confident with the team we have," Williams said. "We're going to have to bank on the freshmen; so far, they've been excellent."

"We are a much deeper team," Keeton said. "Last year we lacked some depth. Hopefully, a lot of people will step up this year."

While the freshmen will be called upon to produce from day one, Harvard coach Steve Locker still believes that the Crimson's greatest asset will be the leadership of its three seniors, Lundquist, Williams and Dupuis.

"I feel very comfortable with the ability of our seniors to take the team under their wing this year," Locker said. "That leadership is going to be absolutely critical to our success."

Harvard will also have the rest of the league to deal with. The Ivies are always competitive, but Yale, Dartmouth and Brown should be the Crimson's main obstacles in the hunt for an Ivy crown.

"Yale and Dartmouth impressed my last year, so I expect them to be tough this year," Williams said. "But the Ivy League is a lottery in terms of freshmen classes, so you never know."

"I don't see us having any real weaknesses," he said. "It's just a matter of gaining some confidence in our first few games and then building from there." MEN'S SOCCER

LAST SEASON

6-7-4, 2-2-3 Ivy

COACH

Steve Locker, seventh year

CAPTAIN

Andrew Lundquist

KEY RETURNERS

Senior G Jordan Dupuis; Junior M Will Hench; Junior M Ryan Keeton; Senior B Lee Williams

KEY LOSSES

M Ricky Le; F Tom McLaughlin

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"The play of Will Hench and Ryan Keeton will be critical to our success." Senior sweeper Lee Williams

OUTLOOK

No one ever said replacing over 40 percent of your offense was easy. But with the graduation of Ivy Player of the Year Tom McLaughlin, who now plays pro soccer, that is exactly what Harvard must do if this season is to be a success. The talent and experience of a strong defense led by senior goaltender Jordan Dupuis between the sticks and senior sweeper Lee Williams at sweeper should help on the other side of the field. But unless the Crimson finds someone who can find the back of the net consistently, it could be a long season.

MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)

DATE  OPPONENT 9/13  STANFORD, L 1-0 9/16  CENT. CONN. ST. 9/19  Columbia 9/23  Providence 9/26  YALE 9/29  Boston University 10/3  Pennsylvania 10/10  CORNELL 10/14  NORTHEASTERN 10/17  Holy Cross 10/24  Princeton 10/28  FAIRFIELD 10/31  DARTMOUTH 11/4  Maine 11/7  BROWN 11/14  HARTWICK