Men's Lacrosse Preps For Cornell

With graduation on the horizon, there are some things that all seniors want to make sure they do before they leave. For the Harvard men’s lacrosse team, there is still one big task that has been left unaccomplished—beating Cornell. And with the Ivy League season well underway, the Crimson will have its last chance, barring a postseason meeting, on Saturday afternoon at Soldier’s Field Stadium.

“I think this game really means a lot to the senior class,” said co-captain Dean Gibbons, who is the reigning New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA)/Skor Sports Player of the Week. “We’ve never beaten Cornell before, and this is our last shot to do it in the regular season.”

Tomorrow’s game, which will be nationally televised on CBS College Sports, carries with it much more than pride for the senior class.

The Big Red (7-2, 3-0 Ivy), ranked sixth in the country, leads the Ivy League while Harvard (6-3, 1-1 Ivy) is tied for third. A win tomorrow would keep the Crimson in the hunt for the Ivy League title and help its chances for a bid to the NCAA tournament, which Harvard has not been to since 2006.

“This game in particular is very important because Cornell is in first place and is 3-0 in the league,” Crimson coach Chris Wojcik said. “This is an opportunity to play the top team at home, so it’s got huge implications for the Ivy League race and the Ivy League tournament, so we’re looking forward to it.”

If both teams’ play so far this season is any indicator, Saturday’s matchup should be full of dominant offense. Harvard ranks seventh in the country in points per game with 18.67, while the Big Red, which has reached the Final Four in both of the past two years, is fourth with 19.89 points per game. The Crimson is also seventh in the country in goals per game, with 11.78, while Cornell is tied for second in this category, with 13.11 goals per game.

A big reason for Harvard’s offensive success has been the outstanding play of Gibbons and junior Jeff Cohen.

“Our offense really starts with Dean,” Wojcik said. “He’s our quarterback, he’s our leader on offense…He can dodge, he can shoot, he can feed, he makes all the players around him better.”

While Gibbons leads the team with 33 points, Cohen paces the squad with 22 goals for the season.

But the Crimson cannot simply rely on its Gibbons-led offense going into Saturday’s matchup.

“Our goal is really to play well in every phase of the game,” Wojcik said.

One of the important phases for Harvard will undoubtedly be its defense, which is facing one of the best offenses in the country.

On the defensive end, the Crimson will have to deal with a prolific scorer for Cornell in junior co-captain Rob Pannell. Pannell, this week’s Ivy League Player of the Week, leads the country in points per game with 5.89, a full point higher than Army’s Jeremy Boltus.

“We’re going to play our team defense, play our game,” Wojcik said. “We have faith in our [defensive] guys to do everything we can to limit Rob’s production and the ability to get that offense started. It’s a big challenge…but we’ll be prepared.”

The Big Red ranks 29th in the country in scoring defense, while Harvard is 43rd.

While a high scoring game may be more exciting, the Crimson will take a win in any fashion.

“We’re just looking to play our best and play Harvard lacrosse and, you know, put our best foot forward on Saturday,” Wojcik said.

If tomorrow’s game does, in fact, play out as a high-scoring battle, draw controls could be crucial.

Crimson senior midfielder Andrew Parchman ranks 28th in the country with a .542 face-off win percentage, while Cornell’s junior Mitch McMichael ranks 45th with a .461 win percentage.

The Big Red is coming off of a four-game win streak, while Harvard, which lost its last game against Albany, has lost two of its last three by a total of two goals.

“We’re really bummed coming off of the Albany loss,” Gibbons said.

Last year’s meeting between the Crimson and Cornell provided plenty of excitement. Harvard, leading by one going into the final quarter, was beaten in a thriller on a late goal by Pannell.

Whether the Crimson finds itself in a shootout or a low-scoring game against the Big Red tomorrow, their ultimate motive will not change.

“I don’t really have a preference,” Gibbons said. “I’d just like to see us win at the end of the day.”