Ticket and Tailgating Information
2011 Selection Show Video and Reactions
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's lacrosse team will play host to Hartford in the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament when the two teams meet at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPNU. The Big Red is the second seed in the tournament and would play its next contest at Hofstra, if it can knock off the Hawks in the first round.
The winner of the contest will head to Hempstead, N.Y. for the NCAA quarterfinals on Saturday, May 21 to meet the winner of the Virginia/Bucknell game.
The game against the Hartford marks the eighth straight trip that Cornell will take to the NCAA tournament. It will also be the 24th NCAA tournament appearance in school history, with the Big Red posting a 29-20 record with 12 Final Four appearances. Cornell advanced to the national semifinal game last season, where it fell to Notre Dame.
Cornell closed its 2011 regular season with a 13-2 mark (6-0 Ivy) and earned its ninth consecutive Ivy League title. The Big Red earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after defeating Harvard, 15-6, this afternoon in the Ivy League tournament championship game.
The game will be the first meeting between the two programs.
The Hawks earned their first-ever America East Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in dramatic fashion, using a tally by Ryan Compitello with one second remaining in AE tournament championship game to upset No. 13 Stony Brook on May, 7, and improve to 11-6 on the season. Hartford has a solid offensive unit, led by Carter Bender (33 goals, 18 assists) and Compitello (22 goals, 27 assists) with 51 and 49 points, respectively, while Rory Nunamacher and Aidan Genik have 22 goals apiece. In addition to its offense, the Hawks benefit from an outstanding face-off man in Tim Fallon, who has won 227-of-362 for a .627 winning percentage. In between the pipes, Harford has used a pair of goalies that have split time fairly evenly. Frank Piechota has started 10-of-12 games and owns an 8.44 goals-against average and a .546 save percentage, while Scott Bement has started 7-of-8 contests and posted an 8.88 GAA and a .527 save percentage.
