Laxers' Haggerty to face Terps, brother

By CARLA MOTKO
Collegian Staff Writer

Kevin Haggerty, attacker for the No. 12 Penn State men's lacrosse team, just wants to win. To win, he has to win face-offs. To win face-offs, he has to beat his brother.

Brian Haggerty, midfielder for No. 8 Maryland and Kevin's older brother, is considered to be one of the top face-off lacrosse players in the nation. So Kevin will have his work cut out for him when the Nittany Lions (2-0) take on the Terrapins (2-1) at 3 p.m. today at Maryland. The game was originally set for last Wednesday, but it was rescheduled due to the inclement weather.

Kevin and Brian grew up playing several sports including high school lacrosse and wrestling. Although they played on the same team, Kevin said Brian had "the older brother syndrome," in that he had to be bigger and better than his little brother at everything.

For wrestling, the two were never official partners, but often sparred together.

"We went at it a few times in practice," the Lions sophomore said. "He always wanted to be better than me. I was faster than him, but he was more physical than me, so it made for some pretty good matchups."

Kevin spent his childhood learning sports from his brother. The two played lacrosse together in high school and in that time Kevin absorbed much of his brother's style.

"Who knows him better than me?" Kevin said of his brother. "He knows my style just like I know his. He's probably the best face-off specialist around."

Brian led the nation in face-off wins last year with 194. That, in addition to his stellar performance for the Terps in the NCAA Tournament last year, made him a candidate for first-team All-America honors in 1999.

Brian's effectiveness on face-offs made Penn State coach Glenn Thiel just a bit nervous. He considered face-offs crucial in all of the Lions' games thus far and knows it will be the same against the Terps.

In the Lions' first game of the season against Notre Dame, Penn State won just eight of the 24 face-offs. Against Villanova, the Lions more than doubled their total, winning 18 of 22 face-offs.

Last year Brian and Kevin faced off six times against each other. Of those six times, each won three.

"Kevin did a good job last year with face-offs," Thiel said. "But they were both wrestlers, and when you're taking face-offs, it's just like being on the mat -- it's all up to you."

Because of the even pairing between Brian and Kevin during last year's match, Thiel said he has confidence in Kevin for this year. The 194 total face-off wins may be an intimidating statistic, but Thiel said Brian's All-America consideration is something Kevin could just as easily have earned.

"He's no different than Kevin, Maryland just went to the NCAA Tournament last year and we didn't," Thiel said. "If we would have, I'm sure Kevin would be a candidate (for All-America honors)."

Kevin said he and his brother have very similar styles, but this game will give one of the brothers a chance to stand out in the eyes of his family.

"This is always a big game and we look forward to this every year," Brian said. "My whole family comes down for this. It's bragging rights for the rest of the year."