Big Red Invades Laxmen's Lair

If you want some top-notch hard-hitting lacrosse this weekend, a trek out to the Worcester Centrum, home of the New England Blazers, is not necessary.

Although professional lacrosse boasts more violence, this weekend's Harvard-Cornell men's showdown will provide plenty of entertainment as some of the best collegiate players strut their stuff. Ohiri Field will be transformed into a hotbed of competition today at 2 p.m., as the Ivy league season begins for both teams.

"If we had a team that we would want to shoot for, Cornell would be it," Harvard Coach Scott Anderson said.

"I am familiar with the Harvard personnel and find that there is a tremendous amount of parity in the Ivy league," Cornell Coach Rich Moran said.

If any team defies this parity, it would be Cornell, which has won 90 percent of its games in the last 25 years, including four national championships.

Both teams will be unwilling to blemish their records, as both have opened their seasons successfully. Cornell, currently ranked number-eight in the nation, has a record of 2-0 with decisive victories over SUNY-Cortland and Army. The Crimson (1-0) had a victorious debut over C.W. Post in Long Island last Saturday.

Inexperienced D

In Cornell's opening two games, Moran was impressed with how his inexperienced defense held together and supported his new sophomore netminder. Tim Shea (29 saves, 7.6 goals-against-average). The biggest pre-season question for the Big Red was in goal after losing an All-Ivy goalie to graduation.

"The key for [Cornell] will be how well [Shea] plays," Anderson said. "If he is effective, they are a better team than they were last year."

The Big Red's strength lies in its attack and midfield play, which is led by senior attackers and leading scorers, John Heil (5 goals-7 assists--12 points) and Bill O'Hanlon (4-1--5). The all important midfield post is controlled by seniors Vince Angotti (3-4--7) and Mike Cummings (4-0--4).

ence on the offensive side, a blowout might be expected, but the Crimson is not without advantages. Cornell is a team that plays and practices predominantly on astroturf and Ohiri Field is anything but turf. The transition to grass is not always a smooth one.

Despite having a worse record, the Crimson has beaten Cornell two out of the last three years.

"They do have weaknesses in their defense which we should be able to exploit," said Mike Murphy, Harvard's All-Ivy defender.

The Crimson that plan on doing this exploiting are senior attacker Dave Kramer, who scored five of Harvard's 13 goals last weekend, and last year's leading scorer, junior Mick Cavuoti (16-20--36 in 1989).

Goaltending

Coach Anderson pointed out that, with all of the offensive firepower on these two teams, the name of the game will be goaltending. If Crimson netminder Chris Miller is able to match his 17-save performance from last weekend, Harvard will be able to give the Big Red a run for its Big Money.