The 1971 NCAA lacrosse tournament was the first annual

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

hosted by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

to determine the team champion of

college lacrosse College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at colleges and university, universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse ...

among its members in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Prior to this the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) had voted for the national champion and, subsequently, awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy for the college lacrosse title based on regular season records. In the inaugural final, top-seeded Cornell defeated

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, 12–6. The championship game was played at Hofstra Stadium at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census. It occupies the s ...

with 5,458 fans in attendance. This was Cornell's first lacrosse title since winning the USILA championship in 1907. Cornell was 1–4–1 against Maryland up to this point, in a series that began with Cornell's 2–1 win in 1921. The teams played a 2–2 tie in 1922, and Maryland won by 11–1 in 1929, 14–2 in 1951, 17–10 in 1963 and 13–6 in 1965. For this tournament as well as the 1972 tournament, the Wingate Memorial Trophy was presented to the winner.

Qualification

Eight NCAA Division I college men's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

teams met after having played their way through a regular season. College lacrosse at that time was broken into four divisions, so the NCAA tournament games for that year were based on geographical fit rather than seeding. The Tournament teams were selected from 114 schools which sponsored lacrosse at that time. Each division sent one team, two other teams were picked from the northern, southern and western divisions, and then two teams were chosen at large, chosen by a selection committee of five coaches and athletic directors.

Overview

The

Cornell Big Red The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports and other competitive teams that represent Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The university sponsors 37 varsity sports, and several intramural sports, intramural and club teams. Cornell ...

, who posted a 13–1 record during the season, were led by coach Richard M. Moran and star player
Bob Rule
John Burnap, Bob Shaw, an
Alan Rimmer
defeated the 9-3 Maryland Terrapins 12 to 6 in the finals. Cornell had won 13 straight games leading up to the title game, losing only their opener by one goal to Virginia. Cornell won despite their first team All American goaltender Bob Rule being out with an injury, he was injured in the quarterfinal game against Brown. Backup goaltender Bob Buhmann, who also was the backup ice hockey goaltender to

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, politician, lawyer, businessman, and author. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was ...

, started in place of Rule and was credited with 25 saves as the Big Red shut down the Maryland attack. Buhmann also ended up as an honorable mention All American that season, and all told made 52 saves in this tournament. Canadian-born Al Rimmer, the first Canadian born NCAA lacrosse recruit, scored six goals in the finals to lead Cornell. Rimmer, from Toronto, had led Cornell with 43 goals and 31 assists for 74 points for the season. He ended his career as the all-time Cornell record-holder in career points with 80 goals and 82 assists for 162 points. In 1970 in just his second year, Coach Moran's team was the only squad in the nation to go undefeated with a record of 11–0, but controversy ensued when the USILA named Johns Hopkins, Navy and Virginia as the national champions, while Cornell was voted fifth in the country. The next season, after losing in the season opener to Virginia, 10–9, Cornell rattled off 13-straight victories. In the semi-finals, Cornell edged Army, 17–16, with Cornell grabbing a 7–4 lead after one period. Army, led b
Tom Cafaro
who had seven goals and three assists in the game, battled back and by the third period it became a question of who would get the last goal. The lead changed hands twice and the score was tied four times in the final period, before Bob Shaw scored at 12:33 giving Cornell the victory. Frank Davis' four goals against Army in the semi-finals ensured Cornell's place in the national championship. Cornell had not beaten Army in their previous 15 games. Coach Richie Moran was voted the Division I Coach of the Year, while John Burnap won the Schmeisser Award as the nation's outstanding defenseman and Bob Rule won the Ens. C.M. Kelly, Jr. Award as the nation's top goaltender, despite the fact that a season-ending knee injury kept Rule from playing in the NCAA tournament. In the finals, Al Rimmer fired in six of Cornell's 12 goals, with Cornell never trailing in the game. Rimmer scored first at 59 seconds and though Maryland was able to tie the score at 2-2, the Terps posed no real threat after the first period. The goal that put Cornell ahead for good was produced by their third midfield. With 7:47 to go in the first period, Bob Wagner, a senior from Newton, Pa., scored off an assist by Craig Bollinger, a junior from Rochester, N.Y. Rimmer then took command and racked up three straight goals. Frank Davis, a junior from Sanborn, N.Y. and Bucky Gunts, a junior from Baltimore, Md. finished up Cornell's string of six straight goals.Associated Press. ''Cornell Eyes NCAA Stick Title''. SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD. June 3, 1971. pg. 18

Bracket

Box scores

Final

#1 Cornell vs. #3 Maryland

* 6/05/1971 at Hofstra Stadium,

Semifinals

#1 Cornell vs. #4 Army

#2 Navy vs. #3 Maryland

Quarterfinals

#1 Cornell vs. #8 Brown

#4 Army vs. #5 Hofstra

#2 Navy vs. #7 Virginia

#3 Maryland vs. #6 Air Force

Outstanding player

Tom Cafaro, Army
br>18 points, Tournament Leading Scorer * The NCAA did not designate a Most Outstanding Player until the 1977 national tournament.
The Tournament outstanding player listed here is the tournament leading scorer.

References

External links

Cornell Reports Vol. 05, No. 07 (June 1971) writeup on title game

SAE Cornell, Laxmen Win NCAA Crown From Cornell Reports, June 1971

Photos from 1971 Championship game

Cornell Nips Army 17-16 The Evening News - Jun 1, 1971 - Semifinal game

Cornell 1971 in season Video Highlights

50 Years Ago, Cornell Men's Lacrosse Changed The Game
{{1970–71 NCAA University Division championships navbox NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Lacrosse in New York (state)