In the film Dr. Strangelove, the Soviet Union constructs a secret weapon, a “doomsday device.” Likewise, this season, the Cornell men’s lacrosse team has a secret weapon of its own that spells doom for its opponents — junior John Glynn. After missing all of the 2006 season due to injury, Glynn has become an integral member of the squad this year.
In his freshman campaign in 2005, the midfielder from Lindenhurst, N.Y., played in all 14 games for Cornell, recording three goals, four assists and scooping up 19 ground balls. After his rookie season, though, Glynn tore his ACL and meniscus in a summer league lacrosse tournament. While he was recovering from the injury that kept him out his entire sophomore year, he contributed to the Red by being part of the scout team.
“I would try and be the opposing team, one of their better players,” Glynn said. “It was definitely hard, but it felt good to be with the team. They had my back the whole time. … They were supportive, and they wanted me to get better for the next year.”
This season, Glynn made his mark right from the get-go. In the regular-season opener at home against Binghamton, the midfielder notched four goals, which eclipsed his career total to that point, and handed out two assists, giving him a team-high six points for the game. In addition, he picked up four ground balls against the Bearcats.[img_assist|nid=22295|title=Get some|desc=Junior John Glynn chases a ground ball his freshman year. Glynn is third on the team this year with 18 points.|link=node|align=left|width=77|height=100]
“No one really knew about me at the beginning of the year, so I wasn’t expecting that much attention,” Glynn said. “I kind of blew up that game.”
Glynn has continued his strong play throughout the season. He leads the team with 10 assists, two more than senior Eric Pittard. His eight goals rank fourth on the squad, and he is third on the team with 18 points, only trailing Pittard and senior David Mitchell.
“I feel like I am a more balanced player, from playing defense to face-offs to offense to man-down, so having a consistent goal-to-assist ratio is part of me being a balanced player,” Glynn said.
As a two-way midfielder, Glynn can often be found making an impact on both ends of the field.
“Anyway I can get on the field is awesome,” Glynn said. “When I am on defense, I buckle down and try to do my best down there and on offense I try to set up our team. … It is good to try and go both ways, and to try not to worry the coaches about who is playing defense and who is playing offense.”
“In terms of his presence in between the 30s, [Glynn] is as tough as it comes on the field,” said head coach Jeff Tambroni. “He is just a throwback, a two-way middie. He can play offense and defense; he is excellent off the ground. He is a team player at both ends.”
Glynn has also logged some time at the face-off “X” this season, backing up sophomore Tommy Schmicker. On the year, Glynn has won 7-of-17 face-offs, including a 4-for-8 mark in last Tuesday’s win over Duke. In Saturday’s victory over Yale, Glynn continued his role in the face off circle, going 3-6. He also tallied a goal and two assists to help Cornell (6-0, 1-0 Ivy).
“[Schmicker] is our first guy [at the ‘X’],” Glynn said. “He is awesome at face-offs. … I didn’t even face off until my freshman year, but I have been learning from younger people. … I give [Schmicker] a little break, see what moves will work and he finishes the game most of the time.”
Size-wise, Glynn is only 5-8, but says that his height doesn’t really have an impact on the way he plays.
“In lacrosse, size really doesn’t really matter that much,” Glynn said. “You can make up for it in quickness, speed and quickness. We have a bunch of guys who are smaller, like me and [junior] John Espey, but we make up for it in speed and knowledge of the game.”