The varsity lacrosse team will face one of its most crucial tests of the season this afternoon when it engages a favored Cornell ten at the Business School field at 3 p.m. The Big Red team features great depth at the crucial midfield position, having three or four combinations, while the Crimson has but two good midfield lines.

Cornell is by no means the toughest team the varsity will face during the season, but with Princeton, Yale and Dartmouth the habitual rulers of the top three positions in the Ivy League, the Big Red represents Harvard's chief competitor for the fourth position.

Coach Bruce Munro views today's game as a vital test of whether the varsity will live up to its potential. The team is now in fairly good physical shape, although defensemen Jim Herscot and Bob Shaunessy are both suffering from minor leg miseries. The latter two will start, along with John Baldwin, in front of goalie Dick MacKinnon, who turned in a fine performance in Wednesday's 12 to 5 victory over Holy Cross.

The midfield represents the Crimson's weakest position, with the starters Dick Parks, Dave Birch and Karl Bjork backed by only one really effective combination, consisting of Manuel Cabral, John Gould and Jerry Cotter. If the game stays close these two lines may be forced to play the entire game, while Cornell's midfielders will be well-rested.

The varsity's fine attack corps of Dub Mallonee, Jerry Pyle, Nick Lamont and Fran Loewald represents the Crimson's chief hope for an upset. Mallonee, in spite of his six-point outburst last Wednesday, can be quite erratic. If he is hot, the game may be very close; if he is not, Pyle, Lamont and Loewald will not be able to do it alone.

Freshmen Play Tabor

The freshman lacrosse team will try to pull itself together after the 22 to 1 drubbing suffered at the hands of a polished Deerfield squad last Wednesday, when it engages Tabor Academy here at 3 p.m. The freshmen have had all sorts of woes, including a goalie who broke his ankle three days before the opener, star midfielder Dave Bohn injured early in the first half, and only a few days to practice before the game.