On April 17th, 1971, the Cornell Men’s Lacrosse team easily defeated Harvard with a score of 9-3. The clear star of the game was Canadian Al Rimmer, who lead the team by scoring or assisting with 6 goals. He scored his first goal of the game within 3 minutes of the game starting. Another standout player was All-Ivy Bob Shaw, who had a goal and an assist. The team as a whole outshot their competition 26-16 in the first half. The Harvard goalie, John Casentino, was unable to defend against this relentless attack from the Cornell Laxmen even though he managed to make twelve saves. In comparison, the Cornell goalie Bob Rule only had to make nine.
One of the factors that helped them dominate their competition was how they were able to maintain possession throughout the game. Cornell picked up thirty-one ground balls while Harvard only managed to retrieve seventeen. The Big Red Team was also easily able to clear the ball from their zone and due to the improvements to their midfield players.
This performance reflected the rest of their season very well, as coach Richie Moran lead his team to win the 1971 NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championship with a record of 13-1. This was the first championship the team ever won, and it was the first year this tournament was held. Before 1971, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association voted on the national champion and gave the Wingate Memorial Trophy for college lacrosse based on regular season records. Cornell defeated Maryland in the finals with a score of 12-6. Rimmer again had an impressive performance, scoring 6 goals in the finals. His season record was 43 goals and 31 assists. He ended his Cornel career as the all-time record holder for points with 80 goals and 82 assists for a total of 162 points. This was only the beginning of Coach Moran’s and Cornell’s dominance in lacrosse.
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