Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #5: No. 14/9 Cornell vs. No. 2 Virginia
FACE OFF: Saturday, March 12, at 1:30 p.m.
SITE: M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, Md.)
2011 Records: Cornell (3-1, 0-0 Ivy League); Virginia (5-1, 0-0 ACC)
SERIES RECORD: Virginia leads, 6-3
LAST MEETING: Virginia won 12-4, March 13, 2010 in Ithaca, N.Y.

RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Barry Leonard, play-by-play; Howie Borkan, color commentary)
LIVE STATS: TBA
LIVE VIDEO: None
TICKETS: www.TicketMaster.com
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/
TELEVISION: ESPNU (Eamon McAnaney, play-by-play; Quint Kessenich, color commentary)

THE MATCHUP — The No. 14 Big Red men's lacrosse team will face its toughest test yet as it travels to Baltimore to take on No. 2 Virginia in the Konica Minolta Face-off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, March 12 at 1:30 p.m. Both teams rebounded from their first losses of the season, as Cornell fell to No. 19 Army, while the Cavaliers lost to No. 1 Syracuse, with mid-week victories over Canisius and Vermont, respectively. The Big Red enters the game with a 3-1 record, while Virginia is 5-1 on the season. The game will be broadcast live to a nationwide audience on ESPNU, while fans in Ithaca can hear Barry Leonard provide the call alongside Howie Borkan on WHCU 870 AM and on the internet as part of the RedCast subscription service. For more information on the Face-Off Classic, visit: http://www.faceoffclassic.com.

SERIES HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA — Despite being two of the oldest lacrosse teams in the nation, Cornell and Virginia have met just nine times, and only three of those meetings have occurred during the regular season. The Cavaliers, who own the 6-3 lead in the series, defeated Cornell, 10-9, in the first meeting in 1971 at Virginia. The teams met again in the 1974 NCAA tournament, with the Big Red taking the commanding 15-8 victory. It would be five years before the teams squared off again, also in the NCAA tournament, but this time the Cavaliers took the 15-8 victory. Virginia managed two more one-goal wins in the 1980 (9-8 in overtime) and 2002 (11-10) NCAA tournaments, while Cornell used a 19-6 victory over the Cavaliers in the 1988 NCAA tournament to propel into the national championship game. During the 2009 regular season, Virginia used a second-half comeback to defeat the Big Red, 14-10, at Klockner Stadium, but Cornell won the rematch, 15-6, in the national semifinal to advance to the 2009 NCAA title game. The Cavaliers regained the upper-hand again last season with a commanding 12-4 victory on Schoellkopf Field.

LOOKING AT THE CAVALIERS — No. 2 Virginia (5-1) is one of the top scoring offensive teams in the nation, averaging 15.4 goals per game, thanks in large part to duo of Chris Bocklet (2nd – 3.4 gpg.) and Steele Stanwick (30th – 2.4 gpg.). Stanwick is also one of the top assist-men in the nation, ranking third overall with 2.8 assists per game. An athletic midfield featuring Shamel and Rhamel Bratton dominates between the 30s for UVA as the twins both average better than 1.75 points per game. The defense is allowing just 8.6 goals per game and is ably backed up senior goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman, who is posting an 8.27 goals-against average and a .571 save percentage. Virginia also excels at both man-up offense and man-down defense. The man-up unit is ranked first in the nation, converting 14-0f-20 chances (.700), while the man-down unit is fourth overall, allowing just one goal on 24 opportunities (.042).

CORNELL VS. THE ACC – Cornell is 13-25 all-time vs. the current members of the ACC, thanks mostly to a 2-13 record vs. Maryland. The Big Red holds a winning record vs. Duke (4-3) and North Carolina (4-3) but has a losing mark vs. the Terrapins and Virginia (3-6).

A WIN OVER VIRGINIA WOULD –
• improve the Big Red to 4-1 on the season and close the Cavaliers lead in the series to 6-4.
• be Cornell's first win over a team ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls since defeating No. 1 Virginia, 15-6, in the national semifinals on May 23, 2009.
• give the Big Red its first win at M&T Bank Stadium (1-2).

LAST TIME VS. VIRGINIA –
• No. 1 Virginia proved its lofty ranking, winning all facets of the game in topping No. 8 Cornell 12-4 at Schoellkopf Field on March 13, 2010.
• Freshman goalkeeper A.J. Fiore availed himself well in the loss with 12 saves and three ground balls, but the Cavaliers suffocating defense and efficient offense proved to be too much.
• Cornell's goals were scored by Chris Langton, Rob Pannell, Ryan Hurley and Austin Boykin.
• Jason Noble caused a game-high five turnovers on the defensive end as a disruptive force, adding three ground balls.
• Cornell's four goals tied for the fewest scored in a game by the Big Red under head coach Jeff Tambroni and the largest margin of defeat in a home game since losing to Princeton 15-5 in 1998.
• Adam Ghitelman made 14 saves, allowing three goals before being lifted with 4:33 remaining. He added a team-best five ground balls and two caused turnovers.
• Chris Bocklet had two goals and two assists, while Rhamel and Shamel Bratton and Colin Briggs each tallied twice for the Cavaliers.
• Virginia held a 40-29 advantage in shots and won the battle on the ground 30-24. It also won 11-of-20 face-offs, including 9-of-14 in the final three periods.
• Neither team was able to score with the extra man, as Cornell misfired on two attempts and the Cavaliers were 0-of-4.

NOTING THE CANISIUS GAME –
• The Big Red defeated Canisius 14-7 to improve to 3-1 overall and remain perfect (2-0) on Schoellkopf Field.
• The win was the eighth straight by Cornell against the Golden Griffins.
• Rob Pannell led Cornell with six assists and one goal. His six assists matched a career high and moved him into third place in Big Red history with 108 career assists.
• Pannell's seven points moved him into fifth place in Cornell history with 151 career points.
• Jesse Gamble tallied a career-high two goals, both of which came on extra-man opportunities.
• Midfielders Jack Dudley, Roy Lang and Mitch McMichael also netted two goals each, setting a new career-high for Dudley and matching career highs for Lang and McMichael.
• Jason Noble registered eight ground balls.

MEET THE NEW BOSS — Ben DeLuca was named the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Cornell Lacrosse this past summer. After spending 10 years as first an assistant, then an associate head coach of the Big Red program, he has posted a 3-1 record in his first season at the helm of the program. The 10th head coach in program history, DeLuca played for, or coached under Cornell's last three coaches – Richie Moran, Dave Pietramala, and Jeff Tambroni. DeLuca earned four letters on defense for the Big Red, serving as captain his senior year and went on to be named the team's outstanding senior athlete for his leadership and dedication on and off the field.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR PANNELL – Junior attackman Rob Pannell was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on March 7 after a stellar performance against Binghamton and Army. It was the first league award of the season for the Big Red and the third Player of the Week award of Pannell's career. Despite playing in just the first half against Binghamton, Pannell still had a hand in 8-of-13 goals against the Bearcats. Against Army and one of the top goalies in the nation, Pannell led the Big Red with three goals.

TEWAARATON WATCH LIST – For the second straight year, Cornell lacrosse players Rob Pannell and Jessi Steinberg have been named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch list. Pannell is the reining USILA Jack Turnbull Award winner as the outstanding attackman in Division I. The junior attackman finished the 2010 season as a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection, a first-team All-American and was the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year. Steinberg was also a unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection a year ago.

ROUGH ROAD – According to the March 7 USILA coaches' poll, the Big Red will face a total seven ranked teams this season. Of those games, four are on the road, two are at home and one will be played at a neutral site … Cornell has already played one of its seven ranked teams, falling to No. 19 Army on March 5.

BROWN HALL OF FAMERS – UVA's head coach Dom Starsia has something in common with Cornell head coach Ben DeLuca's father David, as both are members of the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame. The elder DeLuca, an All-American baseball player for the Bears, graduated in 1964 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973, while Starsia, also an All-American for Brown, graduated in 1974 and was inducted in 1980.

NEUTRAL ZONE – Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red is 10-4 in neutral site games, with two victories over Notre Dame (Chicago, 2006 and Long Island, 2007), a single victory over Albany (Princeton, 2007), Navy (Long Island, 2008), Denver (Dallas, 2008), Harvard (Foxboro, 2009), Princeton (Hempstead, 2009), Virginia (Foxboro, 2009), Hobart (Syracuse, 2010) and Army (Stony Brook, 2010). The four losses came at the hands of Duke in the 2007 national semifinal (Baltimore, Md.), Syracuse in the 2009 national championship (Foxboro, Mass.), Dartmouth during the 2010 season (Foxboro, Mass.) and Notre Dame in the 2010 national semifinal (Baltimore, Md.).

WIN NO. 680 – Cornell's 14-7 victory over Canisius on March 9, 2011 was the 680th win in program history. The Big Red is 680-441-27 all-time, and its 680 victories rank seventh among the winningest programs in collegiate lacrosse.

FLAWLESS DEFENSE – The Big Red did not commit a single penalty vs. Canisius on March 9, marking the first time since the 2010 season-opener against Hobart, a span of 20 games, that Cornell was not flagged.

TOP 10 TEAM – With Cornell ranked 14th in the latest USILA Coaches Poll, it marks just the second time since March 28, 2005 that the Big Red has fallen out of the top 10 in one of the national polls. The last time it happened (April 5, 2010), Cornell was back in the top 10 the next week.

BALANCED OFFENSE – Through its first three games of the season, Cornell's scoring has come from all over the field. Of its 50 goals, 27 came from the midfield, 20 goals were scored by attackman and three goals came from the defense.

MOVING ON UP – With his six assists vs. Canisius on March 9, Rob Pannell moved into third place in Cornell history for career assists with 108. He needs just 14 more to surpass Tim Goldstein (122; 1987-88) and 57 more assists over the next two seasons to pass Eamon McEneaney and become the Big Red's all-time leader … With his seven points vs. Canisius on March 9, Pannell moved into fourth place in Cornell history for career points with 171. He needs just five more points to move into fifth place, surpassing Jon Levine (175; 1974-76).

HELPING HAND – As of March 7, Rob Pannell ranked first in the country in assists per game (3.00 apg).

GET TO THE POINT — As of March 7, Rob Pannell ranked first in the nation in points per game (5.67 pgp).

NOBLE EFFORT – Jason Noble matched a career-high with five caused turnovers in the Big Red's season opener against Hobart.

EMPIRE STATE OF MIND – Cornell has been traditionally very successful against collegiate teams from New York state, posting an all-time record of 262-156-6 (.625). Head coach Ben DeLuca has posted a record of 3-1 (.750) vs. teams from the Empire State … The Big Red will face a total of six teams from New York state in 2011.

BACK IN NET – Incumbent starter AJ Fiore returns to backstop the Big Red this year. So far this season, he has posted a 7.23 goals-against average and a .467 save percentage. As a rookie, he posted an 11-6 record, finished the year ranked first in the Ivy League and 15th in the nation in goals-against average (8.69) and was third in the conference and 23rd in the nation in save percentage (.545).

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE — Since 2001, the Big Red has gone 59-14 at Schoellkopf Field, including perfect slates in 2011 (2-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0).

NON-CONFERENCE WINS — Cornell owns a 34-8 record in its last 42 regular-season non-conference games, dating back to the Big Red's 16-14 victory over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on April 12, 2005.

MIDFIELD MEN – The offensive midfield remains nearly unchanged from a season ago, with five of the top six players - Jack Dudley and All-Ivy selection David Lau, as well as returning starters Roy Lang, Chris Langton and Ross Gillum - returning. As a group, four of the five ranked among Cornell's leading scorers a season ago and they accounted for 67 percent of the scoring that came out of the offensive midfield in 2010.

ON THE DEFENSIVE – The Big Red returns all three starting defensemen from a season ago, including All-American Max Feely, preseason All-American Jason Noble, and Mike Bronzino.

BRONZINO BONANZA – Sophomore defender Mike Bronzino tallied two goals against Hobart in the season opener, becom¬ing the first Big Red close defender to score twice in a single game since Ryan McClay scored twice against the Statesmen on May 4, 2002. In Cornell's next game against Binghamton, he registered two assists.

SINGLE-DIGIT SUCCESS – Since 2000, Cornell has posted a 104-13 record (88.9 percent) when holding its opponent to less than 10 goals.

RULE FOLLOWERS – In the 39 games played since the start of the 2009 season, the Big Red has been flagged for more penalties than its opponents on just eight occasions.

GOING STREAKING – Junior Rob Pannell has the longest point-scoring streak on the team and second longest in the nation, having registered a point in every game of his collegiate career (39 games). Siena's Bryan Neufeld leads the nation with a 40-game streak.

ELITE COMPANY – Over the span of the past five seasons (2007-11) Cornell has racked up the third most wins (54) of any Division I men's lacrosse program, and has posted the fourth best winning percentage (76.8 percent) overall.

FOR STARTERS - Cornell is 61-50-5 all-time in season openers … Including 2011, the Big Red has played Hobart 15 times to start a season, posting an 8-7 record against the Statesmen in those games.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS – Cornell had three players named to the 2011 preseason All-American list. Rob Pannell was named a first-team selection, while Max Feely was a second-team choice and Jason Noble was named an honorable mention selection.

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY – Cornell returns three players that earned All-Ivy honors last season, led by Rob Pannell, a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection. Pannell was joined by midfielder David Lau and defender Max Feely, who were both honorable mention selections.

CRAZY EIGHTS — Last season, the Big Red claimed at least a share of the Ivy League title for the eighth straight season, the longest stretch since winning 10 straight championships between 1974-83. Cornell's eight consecutive regular season Ivy League titles is the longest current stretch by any men's lacrosse team in any conference in the nation.

11-WINS – Cornell has posted at least 11 wins in each of the past six seasons, surpassing the longest previous streak in school history (1974-78).

CLOSE CALLS — Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Cornell is 25-7 in games that have been decided by a single goal, a mark that was raised as the Big Red defeated Loyola, 11-10, in triple overtime on May 15, 2010, at Schoellkopf Field. Of the seven losses, three have come against Syracuse (12-11 on April 11, 2006; 10-9 (OT) in the 2009 national championship game; 8-7 on April 13, 2010).

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN – Senior Jack Dudley and junior Rob Pannell will serve as captains for the 2011 season.

HARD HAT – Roy Lang has been selected to carry the Hard Hat for the 2011 season. The tradition of the Hard Hat began in the fall of 1999. Midway through the fall season, a player is selected to carry the Hard Hat for the year. The recipient is someone that the coaches feel demonstrates a blue-collar approach to the game of lacrosse; he is driven and selfless, not the most talented player on the field, but consistently the hardest worker. He puts the team first, and embodies how the coaches want Cornell players to act and respond on or off the field.

CHAMPIONSHIP LINEAGE – Four players on the 2011 Cornell roster have fathers that have won a national championship with the Big Red – David Lau (George '78), Cody Levine (Jon '76), Shane O'Neill (John '76) and Matt Taylor (Joe '80). George Lau was a two-time winner as part of both the 1976 and 1977 national championship squads. Jon Levine and John O'Neill joined him on the 1976 team, while Joe Taylor was on the 1977 squad … Additionally, Connor Entenmann's father Ken was on Cornell's national semifinalist team in 1982, while Cole McCormack and Mike O'Neil each have uncles (Brian McCormack and Geoff Hall, respectively) that played together on the Big Red's national runner up squads in 1987 and 1988.

SISTER ACT – Junior Roy Lang and freshman Mike O'Neil each have a sister on the Big Red women's lacrosse team. Lang's sister Kelly is a sophomore, while O'Neil's sister Aly is a junior.

GEOGRAPHY LESSON – The 43 players on the 2011 Big Red roster hail from 11 different states – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington – as well as the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces – British Columbia and Ontario.

GEOGRAPHY LESSON, PART TWO – Since 1950, the Big Red has had players from 33 different states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

ATTACKMAN OF THE YEAR - For the first time since 1987, a member of the Cornell men's lacrosse team won the USILA's Jack Turnbull Award as the outstanding attackman in Division I, as Rob Pannell took home the award. He became just the seventh sophomore in the 64-year history of the award to earn the honor. Pannell joins an elite list, becoming the fourth Cornell player to win the Turnbull Award, joining Eamon McEneaney '77, Mike French '76, and Tim Goldstein '87.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR PANNELL – Rob Pannell joined rare company when he was named the 2010 Ivy League Player of the Year, becoming just the fourth sophomore, and the first since Princeton's Ryan Boyle in 2002, to earn the league's top honor. Pannell was a unanimous selection for the award, voted on by the league's head coaches, and was the fifth Cornellian to be named Player of the Year during the past 10 seasons.

BIG RED INTERNATIONAL – Brad Kamedulski '10 (Poland), Scott Lee '02 (Korea), Ryan McClay '03 (USA), Max Seibald '10 (USA), and Sten Jernudd '14 (Sweden) all participated in the FIL Championships this summer in Manchester, England. McClay and Seibald won gold medals with Team USA and were both named to the All-World team following the tournament. Jernudd was also honored with a selection to the All-Presidents team as one of the top players in the tournament from a team that did not advance to the medal round.

RECAPPING 2010 – The Big Red advanced to the national semifinal game for the second straight year, and third time in the last four seasons. Although Cornell fell to Notre Dame, 12-7, the Big Red made its presence felt in the lacrosse community with its incredibly young squad impressing all spectators. Cornell finished the year with a 12-6 record overall and a mark of 4-2 in the conference, earning a share of its eighth straight Ivy League title, the longest stretch since Cornell won 10-straight championships between 1974 and 1983. Cornell's eight consecutive regular season Ivy titles is the longest current stretch by any men's lacrosse team in any conference. The Big Red earned an at-large bid to the 2010 NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, garnering a seventh seed. In the first round, Cornell defeated Loyola, 11-10, in triple overtime to advance to the quarterfinals before beating Army, 14-5, to earn a trip to the Final Four.

UP NEXT – Cornell opens Ivy League play next weekend when it travels to New Haven, Conn., to take on Yale on Saturday, March 19 at 1 p.m.