Lacrosse Squad Faces Cornell

Normally it would be appropriate to list the things the Harvard lacrosse team will have to do today to beat second-ranked Cornell, to tick off the cliches: playing tight defense, working for good shots, and exploiting every break. But the awful truth is there is no way in the world the Crimson can beat the Big Red.

A quick look at the record shows why. Cornell is ranked second in the country, trailing only defending national champion Maryland. The Big Red is 6-0, has outscored its foes, 125-43, and has broken the 20-goal barrier four times this year.

Cornell also boasts the two leading scorers in the nation from last year, all-American attackmen Mike French and Eamon McEneaney. Their unheralded sidekick, Jon Levine, is probably just as talented, and the Big Red has corralled a whole herd of fine middies too, led by all-Ivy pick Bill Marino.

Cornell opened its season by smashing Adelphi, 24-8. In case you don't remember, that's the same Adelphi that Harvard edged by only two goals over spring recess. Cornell went on the stomp UMass, 22-10. Last week the Minutemen established themselves as the best team in New England, beating Brown, 15-10. Harvard is light years behind those two squads.

More recently the Big Red blew Dartmouth off the field, 26-6, setting new Ivy League records for goals, assists and points as 15 different players scored.

Eating Crabs at Buds

Last Saturday Cornell took its biggest step to date toward the championship, surprising Johns Hopkins, 15-7, in Baltimore, the Monument City. Hopkins is the team that put the Big Red in its place last year, winning, 16-9, before 12,000 people at Ithaca.

But this time around it was the Blue Jays who were taught a lesson. It's clear that as Cornell rolls toward a rendezvous with Maryland in the NCAA tournament, Harvard and a lot of other teams will have to face their day in school too.