With a 7-1 overall record and a 2-1 mark in Ivy League contests under its belt, the men's lacrosse team is gearing up for perhaps its toughest test yet.
The cagers face the Brown Bears tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. at Memorial Field in a huge contest that will have serious Ivy League title implications.
The Big Green, ranked #19 in the nation by the USILA poll, lost their only game of the season last weekend against Cornell, but rebounded well on Wednesday with an impressive 15-7 victory at Yale.
Dartmouth's 2-1 Ivy League mark puts it in third place in the league, behind Brown's 3-1 record and Princeton's 4-0 Ivy mark. A win by the Big Green tomorrow would vault them into second place in the Ivies.
The Bears are currently ranked #9 in the nation and are riding a three-game winning streak, including a 24-8 thrashing of New Hampshire Wednesday afternoon.
Coach Tim Nelson said the Bears, who made the Final Four last year, are hungry to get into the playoffs again and will give the Big Green a tough fight.
Although the Bears are only 6-4 overall, they boast a 3-1 Ivy League mark, with three of their four losses coming at the hands of nationally ranked teams outside of the Ivy League.
Close losses to Syracuse and Duke, each ranked in the top 10, are evidence that the Bears can play with anyone in the country.
The Big Green will look to midfielder Brian Merritt '97 and co-Captain attackman Todd Smith '95 for the offense. Merritt leads the team with 28 points, 10 of them in the Ivy League. Smith has a team-high 18 goals, including nine Ivy League tallies.
Nelson said the Big Green will look for a balanced scoring attack to spread out the Brown defense. Nelson said the strength of the Bears team is in its defense, especially senior defender Greg Rozycki, so the Big Green will "have to be patient on offense."
The Bears also boast a potent offense, including three of the Ivy League's top 12 scorers, in All-American attackman David Evans, attackman Brian McNally and attackman Josh Selig.
According to Nelson, Dartmouth will do its best to contain Evans, one of the most skilled players in the Ivy League.
