Harvard will be seeking to duplicate its upset of two years ago when it travels to I??haca today to play defending champion Cornell in an important Ivy League lacrosse game.

The Big Red is the unanimous choice to retain its title this year, especially after impressive early-season play against some of the nation's best teams. Harvard is rated as a potentially strong team, but has not yet demonstrated consistent power.

Midfielder Bucky Hayes said yesterday that the Crimson considers itself better than Cornell on a man-to-man basis, but acknowledged that the Big Red is an extremely well-drilled team Harvard will try to take advantage of its supposedly superior talent by running lots of individual dodges on attack.

Harvard is expecting to face a tight Cornell defense like the one which stymied the Crimson at Navy, so the attack has worked against tight defenses all week in practice.

Cornell's attack is dependent on the feeding ability of Al Rimmer, who stands behind the cage and passes out to a host of quick midfielders, including Bob Shaw. Last year Rimmer set an Ivy scoring record, while Shaw led the League in goals.

This attack is usually overpowering in man-up situations, completely frustrating Harvard last year in Cornell's win here, but the week's practice has helped the Crimson immensely in preparing for this assault. So have three scouting reports on Cornell games against Cortland State, Virginia, and Long Island Lacrosse Club.

Can't Repeat '69

Despite all these reasons for optimism, Harvard is unlikely to repeat its 12-4 win in 1969 during a snowstorm. The Big Red lost to first-ranked Virginia by only one goal in March and has done well in almost all its games. As always the Crimson's play is more erratic. -B. H. B.