"Yale's whole center midfield could concentrate on stopping Armando because no one else was in the middle," freshman defender Mike Lobach said. "Armando also had to drop back further, and that ultimately packed us in a little more."

Kelly's raw talent as a defender was also deeply missed, as Yale's offense features a number of scoring threats in both the midfield and the front line.

Three players, Gould, senior Phil Harris and captain Hiro Suzuki were all among the top 10 Ivy League scorers last season. In addition to this seasoned trifecta, the Yale offense features highly recruited freshman Jay Alberts, who already has three assists this season.

In contrast, the Harvard defense started two freshmen in Lobach and Colin Eyre, plus junior Matt Edwards and senior Ryan Keeton.

It was the combination play of Suzuki and Gould that lead to Yale's first tally at the 57:42 mark.

Coming over the midline, Suzuki beat one Harvard midfielder, then ran into trouble with the next challenge. Spinning around, Suzuki beat his man, dazzling the crowd as he momentarily dribbled backwards up the field.

Turning from 35 yards out, Suzuki found Gould to his right, several yards outside the box.

Gould received the ball, took a couple of touches and rocketed a low ball at the net. Sophomore goalie Mike Meagher got a good read and dove to his left, his hands stretched out in front of the ball.