M. lax heads into biggest game of the season against fifth-ranked Cornell

Everyone understands the importance of tomorrow's lacrosse game against No. 5 Cornell at 1952 Stadium. The coaches know it. The players know it. The fans know it.

"As it unfolds, it certainly is the most important game of the season," head coach Bill Tierney said. "This is what they come to Princeton to play lacrosse for. It's exciting, it's a home game, big crowd, backs to the wall. If we win this, we continue to control our own destiny. We'll see if we're champions or not."

If the Tigers win, they will be in a familiar position as far as a playoff bid is concerned, needing just two wins over the weaker programs of Dartmouth and Brown to secure the Ivy championship and also the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

With a loss, though, the team would be without the automatic Ivy bid and on the edges of the selection bubble, needing a little luck and a favorable opinion from the tournament committee for that bubble not to burst.

Tierney also points out that the Ivy league is continuing to get better, another factor the selection committee should consider.

"We're not looking at 'what if we don't win,' but we recognize that Cornell is a top team," Tierney said. "We probably had the 12th ranked schedule [starting the season], but we now have the first or second hardest schedule because of how well our opponents have done."

Cornell is another one of those Ivy teams that has done surprisingly well. Or, at least, surprising to some.

The Big Red have been in the second chair behind Princeton for the last few years, and few looked past the orange juggernaut when picking the Ivy leader this year. But led by all-America Justin Cynar in goal, national team member Ryan McClay on defense, and freshman Canadian phenom Sean Greenhalgh up top, Cornell has knocked off some top opponents, the most noticeable of which was Syracuse.

On attack, the Big Red have been led this season by Greenhalgh, recently named the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse National Player of the week for his six goal performance – a freshman record – against then No. 1 Syracuse. The Ontario native leads the Ivy League with 32 goals in nine games. He stands at just five feet, nine inches and 170 pounds, but he is a very strong athlete with extremely good hands and stick work.

"He's scoring a lot of goals," Tierney said of Greenhalgh. "He's a Canadian kid, lefthander, can really finish the ball. They throw to him like we throw to BJ. He'll get his three or four goals a game. He doesn't have any weaknesses. He's a typical Canadian kid who's used to scoring in a goal that's 4X4 and now it's 6X6, so it looks like the ocean is out there for him."

Tiger senior defenseman Scott Farrell will probably mark up on Greenhalgh.

Except for the surprising output from the freshman, the rest of the Cornell attack consists of merely very good players who can put the ball in the net.

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On the other side of the field, Cornell boasts one of the most solid back lines in the nation. The line is led by McClay, and the other two defenders, Timmy Duboy and Ryan Hall, can shut down any attack out there. They play a sliding defense similar to Princeton's, but like to mix it up some to confuse opposing attacks.

Recognizing Cornell's defensive strength, the Tigers will not be expecting to put huge numbers on the board.

"We're not looking at 11 or 12 goals," Tierney said. "We're looking at 8 or 9, hopefully."

The fans know it. The coaches and players know it. Tomorrow will probably be a defensive struggle that has the potential to be one of the classic Ivy matchups.