While one Harvard player was knocked out on the ground, another was in the process of delivering Yale a knockout blow of his own.

As sophomore midfielder Joe Steffa lay motionless on the grass following a mid-air collision, captain and forward Ryan Kelly blasted in the game-winning goal in the 51st minute as the resilient Harvard men's soccer team beat Yale, 3-2, in a wild affair Saturday at Ohiri Field.

"This is huge for us because we knew coming in that it would be a battle," Kelly said.

Still riding the momentum of a 2-2 draw with nationally ranked Fairfield last Wednesday, Yale looked to shut the door early on a Harvard team that was trying to overcome the listlessness it had displayed in narrowly defeating UMass 1-0.

Yale came flying out of the gates, displaying a furious pace of play in a match that had considerable Ivy League implications. Just 2:08 into the game, Eli defender Brian Lavin converted a feed from Steve Gibbons into a laser shot that beat Crimson goalkeeper Dan Mejias.

Rather than folding, however, Harvard responded by matching Yale's intensity tackle for tackle. Just minutes after Lavin's goal, Crimson sophomore sweeper Mike Lobach slid in hard to Eli forward Justin Burton, knocking him head over heals and subsequently setting the tone for a brutally physical match.

Freshman midfielder Ladd Fritz provided the equalizing goal 18:35 into the match. After midfielder Mike Peller's cross was settled by Grayson Sugarman, Fritz volleyed the ball into the right side of the goal from close range past Yale's Danny Moss.

With the score knotted at 1-1, each team seemed determined to gain the upper hand. Each time Lobach displayed his grit by elevating to gain control of Moss' booming punts, Lavin countered with an equally gutsy willingness to engage in physical contact.

In the 43rd minute, freshman Kevin Ara converted a Kelly cross, and Harvard was able to score the go-ahead goal and secure momentum going into halftime.

"I've been hurt since the beginning of the season, so I'm finally starting to get back into form," said Ara.

The second half started much like the first half, with an inspired Yale squad renewing the furious pace of the first half. Just 3:27 into the half, Gibbons headed in a cross from Jay Alberts that beat Mejias to his right, tying the score at 2-2.

But seconds later, Harvard had some golden opportunities of its own. Ara's point-blank shot was stopped by Moss, and Jon Oslowski's rebound shot was also denied.

As the game took on its most fevered pitch yet, Steffa was knocked down motionless after going up for a header. The crowd and players divided their attention between Steffa and the flow of play. In soccer, play does not stop until the ball is out of bounds, and amidst the distraction Kelly collected a loose ball just outside of the Yale box and released a rocket that beat Moss.

Steffa remained motionless as Kelly's shot found the back of the net, and the celebration that accompanied the winning goal was tempered by the seemingly serious nature of Steffa's injury.

As it turned out, Steffa was not seriously injured and would later return to play. But despite its best effort, Yale could make no such recovery of its own.

"This is a great confidence booster for our team," said Harvard head Coach John Kerr. "There is a lot of passion when Harvard and Yale play, and our boys came to play."

Harvard returns to action tomorrow, when it travels to Holy Cross for a 3 p.m. match-up.