"It was critical to get off on the right foot," George said. "Just for confidence, if we get on a roll it's much easier winning the next game after a victory than a defeat."

Next up for the Crimson is the Darmouth Invitational, where it will battle No. 13 Stanford on Saturday followed by cross-town rival Boston University on Sunday in Hanover, N.H.

Notes: Kerr invited Rev. Robert Buccharelli '56 into the locker room before the game to offer a prayer for the success of the new season. Buccharelli is associated with the Center for Opus Dei on Follen St. in Cambridge. (For most of the game however, divine intervention seemed to benefit the Mountaineers, given the number of Crimson chances that went wide. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and perhaps Austin's miss at the end balanced the ledger.)

The Crimson received a bit of a scare when sophomore back Joe Steffa collied with West Virginia senior Andy Koeing at the end of the first half. Steffa would eventually return to action.

Saturday's contest against Stanford offers Harvard another opportunity to notch the program's first victory over the Cardinal. The Crimson nearly stole a tie last year in Palo Alto, Calif., conceding a goal in the 87th minute to fall 1-0, despite getting outshot 26-6. Stanford is 4-0-0 all time against the Crimson.

Harvard received nine votes in the latest Soccertimes.com Top-25 poll, placing it tied for No. 32 in the nation with Fairfield and Yale.