Crimson, Cornell Clash At Gillette

Brooks Scholl grew up cheering on Cornell lacrosse. After all, Big Red sports tradition was ingrained in his family line. The senior attackman’s father captained Cornell lacrosse to an undefeated season in 1970, while his grandfather played football and baseball there.

So playing Cornell is always a special occasion for the senior tri-captain.

This year, however, the game is different.

When the Harvard men’s lacrosse team steps onto the field to face Cornell on Saturday it will be walking onto the turf of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.—home of the New England Patriots.

The 68,000-seat stadium, which normally displays players such as Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Tedy Bruschi, will host its first ever lacrosse games in a Saturday doubleheader, starting with the Crimson taking on the Big Red at noon.

“It’s a great opportunity for our kids to play in a great venue,” Crimson coach John Tillman said. “It’s something they’re really excited about.”

For Harvard (4-4, 0-1 Ivy) the game will provide a chance to bounce back from a winless three-game roadtrip over spring break, which included losses to Penn, Duke, and Denver.

However, that will not be easy against a Cornell side that is ranked in the top 10 in the country.

The Big Red (7-1, 2-0) currently sits atop the Ivy League standings and is coming off an impressive 13-5 victory against Penn.

Like his captain, Tillman is no stranger to Cornell lacrosse. The first-year coach graduated from Cornell in 1991, where he played for the legendary Richie Moran.

Moran, who led the Big Red to three national championships in the 1970s, also coached Brooks Scholl’s father.

While certainly aware of the great history of Cornell lacrosse, Tillman downplayed the importance of facing his alma mater.

“I haven’t really thought a lot about that,” Tillman said. “For us, we’re looking at a league game against a highly ranked team.”

But according to Scholl, his coach is looking forward to Saturday just as much as the players.

“He’s excited about the game,” Brooks said of Tillman. “He feels like he knows Cornell’s style of play really well, and that’s going to help us prepare for them. He’s been very positive about it.”

After opening the season with a tough loss to Siena, the Crimson rallied to win four in a row to prove that it would be competitive in a strong conference.

Currently, though, Harvard finds itself in the middle of one of the toughest stretches in collegiate lacrosse. Following its dominant 12-3 victory over No. 20 Fairfield, the Crimson came up just short against Penn., before losing to a Duke team that is one of the favorites to win the national championship.

For its final game over spring break Harvard was made to travel across the country, and fell 10-9 in overtime to Denver—a team now ranked in the top 20.

If the Crimson can defeat Cornell, it can take over first place in the Ivies before another difficult game against perennial powerhouse Princeton.

Following the losses over break, Harvard will once again be looking to show not only that it can play with the best, but also that it can beat the best. Against Cornell in Gillette, the Crimson will have a prime opportunity to demonstrate its true potential.

Along with the implications on the Ancient Eight table, Tillman points to a larger significance of the game.

“It’s great for New England lacrosse and Massachusetts lacrosse, which is something we want to promote and something we’ve taken very seriously,” he said. “Playing a strong opponent in a great venue will hopefully help lacrosse grow in the area and also give lacrosse fans here a unique opportunity.”

For Harvard’s seniors, this will be the last chance to beat a Cornell team that has defeated them in each of the past three seasons.

“I’ve been dying to get a win against Cornell,” Scholl said. “For me, this is probably the biggest game of the season.”

It would not be a surprise if it were the same for Tillman and the rest of the players.

—Staff writer Jay M. Cohen can be reached at jaycohen@fas.harvard.edu.