Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #7 No. 10/7 Cornell at No. 12/10 Stony Brook
FACE OFF: Tuesday, March 22, at 7:00 p.m.
SITE: LaValle Stadium (Stony Brook, N.Y.)
2011 Records: Cornell (4-2); Stony Brook (3-2)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 4-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 12-9, March 23, 2010 in Stony Brook, N.Y.

RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Barry Leonard, play-by-play; Howie Borkan, color commentary)
LIVE STATS: http://www.goseawolves.org/multimedia/ston-gametracker.html
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.goseawolves.org/allaccess/?media=229825
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/
TELEVISION: None

THE MATCHUP — The No. 10/7 Big Red men's lacrosse team remains on the road for a mid-week contest at No. 12/10 Stony Brook on Tuesday, March 22 at LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, N.Y. Cornell, playing its fourth game against a nationally ranked opponent since March 5, is coming off a win over No. 16/17 Yale to improve to 4-2 on the season, while the Seawolves suffered a tough overtime loss to Towson to fall to 3-2 overall. Live stats and live video will be provided through www.GoSeawolves.org 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.

SERIES HISTORY VS. STONY BROOK — The Big Red has met Stony Brook four times since 1999, earning a victory in each contest. The Seawolves have never scored in double-digits vs. the Cornell defense, falling 12-5 in 1999, 12-3 in 2002, 9-5 in 2004 and 12-9 in 2010. The 2002 contest came in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

LOOKING AT THE SEAWOLVES — No. 12/10 Stony Brook (3-2) is coming off a tough overtime loss to Towson (9-8) after scoring a season-low eight goals. The Seawolves rank in the top 20 in the nation in both scoring offense (18th – 10.8) and scoring defense (18th – 8.0). Senior midfielder Kevin Crowley leads the team offensively, ranking among the nations leaders in points per game (third – 4.4), assists per game (10th – 1.8) and goals per game (12 – 2.6). Senior attackman Jordan McBride is also a dangerous offensive threat, posting 10 goals and three assists on the season. SBU has the top-ranked face-off unit in the nation, thanks primarily to Adam Rand, who is second in the country with a .717 winning percentage. Rand also ranks seventh in the nation in groundballs per game (7.6). In goal, senior netmider Rob Camposa has played nearly every minute for the Seawolves, posting a 7.53 goals-against average and a .575 save percentage.

CORNELL VS. THE AMERICA EAST – The Big Red is 18-6 all-time vs. the current members of the America East. Cornell is 8-0 all-time vs. Binghamton, 4-0 vs. Stony Brook, and 1-0 vs. Albany. The Big Red has a losing record vs. UMBC (5-6) and has never faced Hartford or Vermont ... Cornell has won its last 13 games vs. America East opponents.

A WIN OVER STONY BROOK WOULD –
• improve the Big Red to 5-2 on the season and make Cornell 5-0 all-time vs. Stony Brook.
• keep Stony Brook head coach Rick Sowell winless against the Big Red (0-5 w/Dartmouth; 0-1 w/SBU)
• make Cornell 2-2 this season vs. nationally-ranked opponents.
• give the Big Red its 14th straight win over an America East opponent.
• be the 682nd victory in program history.

LAST TIME VS. STONY BROOK –
• No. 9/7 Cornell used a 5-0 run to break open a 5-5 halftime deadlock to defeat No. 17 Stony Brook, 12-9, at LaValle Stadium.
• Rob Pannell led all scorers with seven points on one goal and six assists, while Ryan Hurley registered five goals and two assists.
• In a breakout game, Steve Mock tallied two goals and one assist.
• The Big Red defense held the fifth-ranked scoring offense in the nation to just nine goals, just the second time all season the Seawolves have scored less than 10 in a contest.
• In-between the pipes, freshman AJ Fiore regrouped after allowing goals on Stony Brook's first four shots to finish with seven saves.
• Cornell held the slim edge in shots (32-31), while the Seawolves held the commanding lead in ground balls (36-29), thanks mostly to a dominating performance in the face-off circle (17-of-25).

LAST TIME OUT –
• No. 12/9 Cornell scored four unanswered tallies late in the second quarter to take a 6-3 lead into the intermission, and then held on to earn the 10-8 victory over No. 16/17 Yale at Reese Stadium in New Haven, Conn.
• The win extended the Big Red's winning streak against the Bulldogs to 12 games.
• Rob Pannell and David Lau were instrumental in the decisive run, combining to have a hand in all four goals as each attackman registered one goal and one assist.
• Pannell finished the day with two goals and two assists, while Lau tallied one goal and had two helpers.
• The Big Red was led by Steve Mock, who matched a career-high with four goals.
• Thomas Keith tallied his first collegiate point, scoring the first goal of the game.
• The Big Red got solid play from a pair of goalies, with AJ Fiore making eight saves and allowing five goals in 45 minutes of action, while Andrew West stopped six shots and allowed three goals while playing in the third quarter.
• Yale's potent scoring duo of Brian Douglass and Matt Gibson were held to just one combined assist by the tough defensive play of Max Feely and Jason Noble.
• Greg Mahoney and Brandon Mangan finished with three and two goals, respectively, for the home team.

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 4-2 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.

ROUGH ROAD – The Big Red's game at Stony Brook on March 22 will be its fourth game against a nationally ranked opponent since March 5. All three of the previous contests have been away from Ithaca, as Cornell played at Army, vs. Virginia at M&T Bank Stadium, and at Yale. The Big Red posted a record of 1-2 in those games … According to the March 21 USILA coaches' poll, Cornell will face three more nationally ranked opponents this season, taking on Syracuse and Harvard on the road, after welcoming Penn to Schoellkopf Field this weekend.

THRICE AS NICE – The Big Red have won three straight Ivy League Player of the Week accolades, beginning with junior attackman Rob Pannell earning the award on March 7 & March 14 before sophomore attackman Steve Mock was honored on March 21 … Pannell swept back-to-back weeks after tallying 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists and accounting for nearly 1/3 of the Big Red's total points (22-of-67) during a four-game span … Mock was honored for matching a career-high with four goals against Yale to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

EMPIRE STATE OF MIND – Cornell has traditionally been 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 has already faced four team from New York state (3-1), with two more still on the schedule.

DEFENSIVE STOPPER – Max Feely turned some heads on March 12 when he shut down Virginia's Steele Stanwick, holding the junior attackman without a goal or an assist. At the time, Stanwick ranked third in the nation in points per game and had registered at least seven points in the three games prior to his meeting with the Big Red … One week later, Feely held Yale's Brian Douglass to one single assist. At the time, Douglass ranked second in the country with 4.75 points per game.

NATIONAL CAREER ASSISTS LEADER – Despite being only a junior, Rob Pannell is currently the national leader in career assists, having posted 110. He has nearly a double-digit lead on second place Jeremy Boltus, a senior at Army that has 101 career assists. Other than Pannell, Virginia's Steele Stanwick (10th) is the only other junior in the top 10.

TEWAARATON WATCH LIST – For the second straight year, Cornell lacrosse players Rob Pannell and Jessi Steinberg (women's lacrosse) have been named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch list. Pannell is the reigning 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.

NEUTRAL ZONE – Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red is 10-5 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 five 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.), Notre Dame in the 2010 national semifinal (Baltimore, Md.) and Virginia at the 2011 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic (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 681-442-27 all-time, and its 681 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.

BALANCED OFFENSE – So far this season, Cornell's scoring has come from all over the field. Of its 70 goals, 33 came from the midfield, 32 goals were scored by attackman and four 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. He needs just 12 more to surpass Tim Goldstein (122; 1987-88) and 55 more assists over the next two seasons to pass Eamon McEneaney and become the Big Red's all-time leader … With his four points vs. Yale on March 19, Pannell moved into a tie for third place in Cornell history with Ryan Hurley (179; 2007-10) for career points. He needs 77 more points to surpass Eamon McEneaney (256; 1975-77).

HELPING HAND – Rob Pannell ranks second in the country in assists per game (2.83 apg).

GET TO THE POINT —Rob Pannell ranks first in the nation in points per game (5.77 pgp).

NOBLE EFFORT – Jason Noble matched a career-high with five caused turnovers in the Big Red's season opener against Hobart. He currently ranks 24th in the nation with 1.8 caused turnovers per game.

BACK IN NET – Incumbent starter AJ Fiore returns to backstop the Big Red this year. So far this season, he has posted a 7.89 goals-against average and a .494 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 34-9 record in its last 43 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 105-13 record (89 percent) when holding its opponent to less than 10 goals.

RULE FOLLOWERS – In the 41 games played since the start of the 2009 season, the Big Red has been flagged for more penalties than its opponents on just nine 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 (41 games). Siena's Bryan Neufeld leads the nation with a 42-game streak.

ELITE COMPANY – Over the span of the past five seasons (2007-11) Cornell has racked up the fourth most wins (55) of any Division I men's lacrosse program, and has posted the fifth best winning percentage (76.4 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 returns to Schoellkopf Field to take on No. 13 Penn in a critical early-season Ivy League contest on Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m.