BALTIMORE – The Cornell men's lacrosse team has been selected 17th overall in the 2014 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll, while three Big Red players – Connor Buczek, Matt Donovan and Doug Tesoriero – earned preseason All-American honors from the same publication. The selection marks the first time since being tabbed 11th in 2003 that Cornell was chosen to finish outside the top 10 in the IL Preseason Poll. 

The Big Red returns four starters and 15 letter winners to a squad that finished 14-4 overall (6-0 Ivy) a year ago.

Buczek was named a first-team preseason All-American after finishing 2013 with a second-team All-American selection. A unanimous first-team All-Ivy performer a year ago, Buczek moved to the Big Red midfield and had a breakout sophomore season, starting all 18 games and finishing the year ranked second on the team in assists (18) and was third overall and in goals (35) and points (53). His 53 points on the season were the third most ever by a Cornell midfielder, behind Bob Henrickson (56 on 1978) and Tom Quaranto (55 in 1967). He registered at least one goal in 17-of-18 contests, including each of the last 11 outings, and tallied at least three points in 10 games. He also picked up 20 ground balls and caused three turnovers on the season. 

Both Donovan and Tesoriero were honorable mention preseason All-American selections.

Donovan had a solid sophomore season, starting all 18 games as a member of the Big Red's attack unit. He ranked fifth on the team in both goals (27) and points (35), while handing out eight assists. He had at least one point in all but two games on the season and finished with at least three points in seven contests. Of his 35 points, 10 came during the postseason and 13 came during Ivy League play.

Tesoriero took nearly every faceoff for the Big Red during his junior season, going 241-for-415 and finishing the year ranked second in the Ivy League and 12th in the nation in winning percentage (.581). His 241 faceoff wins are the most by a Cornell player since that statistic started being kept during the 1977 season, breaking the school record held by Clayton Weber (192 in 1995). Tesoriero finished the year ranked second in the Ivy League and 11th in the country with 7.39 ground balls per game. He is just the eighth player in Big Red history to collect at least 100 ground balls in a season, finishing with 133 to set the school single-season record, eclipsing a mark set in 1978 by Craig Jaeger. Tesoriero recorded double-digit faceoff wins in 15-of-18 contests, with a career-high 21 wins vs. Princeton on Apr. 27. He also picked up at least five ground balls in 13 contests, including a career-high 13 vs. Maryland in the NCAA tournament to register the most ground balls by a Big Red player in an NCAA tournament game since 1995.

The Big Red opens its season on Saturday, Feb. 22 when it will face Hobart in the 134th meeting between the two teams in the most played rivalry in collegiate lacrosse.

Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll
1 – Duke
2 – Syracuse
3 – North Carolina
4 – Notre Dame
5 – Denver
6 – Maryland
7 – Ohio State
8 – Penn State
9 – Virginia
10 – Yale
11 – Penn
12 – Albany
13 – Princeton
14 – Johns Hopkins
15 – Bucknell
16 – St. John's
17 – Cornell
18 – Villanova
19 – Loyola
20 – Towson