It took the Harvard men's soccer team two games to discover there's life without junior captain Ryan Kelly.

Who would've guessed that Kelly's replacement--freshman defender Joe Steffa--would prove the difference?

While those expected to hold down the fort for Harvard (2-3-1, 1-1 Ivy)--seniors Will Hench, a forward and Armando Petruccelli, a midfielder--had fine games yesterday in the Crimson's 3-2 win over Northeastern (4-3), Steffa making his first college start, was the clear man of the match.

"Steffa played really well," Harvard Coach John Kerr said. "The thing we like about him is he's very vocal."

Steffa didn't need to shout to let everyone know he was there.

He made his mark just 3:49 into the game. Steffa headed in a beautiful corner kick by senior midfielder Ryan Keeton from the top of the penalty box to hand Harvard a 1-0 lead.

But on the field, Kelly contributes more than just offense. His 6'0, 175-pound stature makes him a tough, physical defender. While Steffa certainly doesn't have Kelly's size or ruggedness, no Harvard player made a better defensive play than he yesterday.

During the 31st minute of the first half, Northeastern sent a corner kick towards the front of the box. The ball precariously bounced around off a few players and past sophomore goaltender Mike Meagher. It struck virtually on the goal line when Steffa cleared it up out of immediate danger.

"I was just in the right place at the right time," Steffa said.

It happened too often to be mere coincidence, but before this column transforms into a Steffa agape, the Crimson certainly did miss Kelly on the field yesterday as it did in a 3-0 loss against No. 8 Yale Saturday.

He holds the offense together, and really is a defensive presence on the team. He brings down and controls balls skied at midfield that his teammates simply cannot reach.

Kerr's only viable solution is to replace Kelly by committee for as long as it takes his broken hand to heal. And the prospects are not rosy for a return in the near future.

With junior defender Matt Edwards also injured, and sophomore forward Alan Bengtzen twisting his ankle yesterday, Harvard certainly needs all the help it can get.

That means more plays like the second goal yesterday where a sophomore connection of midfielder Nick Lenicheck and forward Jon Oslowski combined to put Harvard ahead 2-1. Lenicheck, who played a very good game, blazed down the left wing and centered a ball for Oslowski, who banged it home.

The team needs these contributions to build its confidence as it prepares to fly to California for games against Stanford and No. 20 Cal-Berkeley before entering the heart of its Ivy schedule.

"More than just [Kelly's] ability, Kelly is a great leader," Steffa said. "We miss his physical presence, his leadership, and his ability to get everyone playing hard."

That brings us back to Steffa's performance. The Huskies knotted the score with a stunning late goal that caught everyone off-guard, including Meagher.

When it seemed that a dismal sudden death loomed, Steffa gunned a deep throw-in with one minute remaining to the far post where Hench flicked it to sophomore midfielder Mike Peller, who headed it home.

"[Steffa's] got a dangerous throw," Kerr said. "Luckily for us, we only just recognized what he can do."

Even his own coach didn't have that ability scouted, and he did it in the clutch, capping off his day as Kelly's replacement.

If Harvard is going to salvage its season more players will have to take their turn.