Laxers ready for rebuilding Cornell

By DON WAGNER
Collegian Sports Writer

In 1971, the very first NCAA men's lacrosse title game was played at Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y. The team to take the first trophy home was the Big Red of Cornell. At 1 p.m. tomorrow on the Holuba Hall turf, that same team will challenge Penn State in a scrimmage.

Actually, it's not the exact same team that won the NCAA title 24 years ago.

"We're in an extensive rebuilding year, and it's going to take about two years to get back to where we used to be," said Cornell Coach Richie Moran.

But Lion Coach Glenn Thiel isn't so quick to count Cornell out.

"This game should be a very equal one pitting two very similar teams against each other," he said. "They may be a little down from where they used to be, but they're still a very good team."

Both coaches will use this scrimmage to give their players valuable time on the field, and to see where their teams need work. For Thiel, it will be a chance to finalize his midfield lines heading into next weekend's opener with Notre Dame.

Tomorrow's scrimmage will also give Thiel a chance to try to tighten up his team's defense and correct some mistakes the Lions made last weekend in their 13-12 scrimmage loss to Maryland.

"We want to overcome some of the glaring mistakes we made last weekend, like defensive lapses," Thiel said.

For Moran, the scrimmage tomorrow will allow him the opportunity to give his inexperienced freshmen defenders some time to gel as a unit.

"I'll definitely be looking for some offensive continuity," he said. "If it seems that's not going to be our strong suit, then we must concentrate on our defense."

If all else fails for Moran, he hopes luck will be on his team's side.

"Since we'll be using the same locker rooms that the football team uses, maybe some of their Rose Bowl luck will rub off on us," he said.