Game Notes (PDF)

Game Details
Game 7: No. 4/3 Cornell at Penn
Series Record: Cornell leads, 61-22-3
Date: Saturday, March 24, 2012
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Field: Franklin Field
Location: Philadelphia, Pa.

Game Coverage
Live Stats: www.PennAthletics.com
Video Webcast: www.PennAthletics.com
Radio: WHCU 870 AM
Radio Webcast: www.CornellBigRed.com
Television: None

THE MATCHUP — The Cornell lacrosse team, fresh off three consecutive one-goal games that included two overtime contests, will attempt to remain unbeaten in Ivy League play when it visits Penn on Saturday, March 24 at 12 p.m. at Franklin Field. The Big Red will complete its spring break trip against a dangerous Penn team that started the year ranked in the preseason top 20 and took Cornell to overtime a year ago.

SERIES HISTORY VS. PENN — The Cornell and Penn rivalry is the second-oldest in the Ivy League, beginning in the Quakers' second varsity season, 1901. The Big Red, which had already been fielding a team for nine seasons, took the 3-1 victory, the first of six-straight for Cornell. The two programs began playing each other regularly in 1920, meeting nearly every season since. The 2012 edition will be the 87th meeting in the series history, with the Big Red holding a dominating 61-22-3 record overall, including winning the last five meetings.

LOOKING AT THE QUAKERS — Penn brings a deceiving 1-4 record into Saturday's contest, a slate that includes five games against ranked teams, including an impressive 10-6 home win over then-No. 8 North Carolina. Its losses are nothing to be embarassed about, dropping contests to Duke, Lehigh, Villanova and Princeton, all teams ranked in the top 14 in this week's national polls. Four players have scored at least six goals, with John Conneely (7-5-12) and Tim Schwalje (6-6-12) leading the way in scoring. Joe McCallion is the team's primary face-off man and has won 43 percent of the restarts while posting a team-high 10 ground balls. AS a team, the Quakers are scoring 6.6 goals and surrendering 9.4, with goalkeeper Brian Feeney playing every moment in the cage and posting a .453 save percentage. Third-year head coach Mike Murphy will be looking for his first triumph over Cornell (0-3).

A WIN OVER PENN WOULD –
• improve head coach Ben DeLuca's career record to 20-4.
• make Cornell 6-1 to start a season for the first time under DeLuca.
• improve the Big Red to 2-0 in Ivy League play for the sixth straight year.
• extend its win strreak over the Quakers to six games.

LAST TIME VS. THE QUAKERS –
•  Roy Lang cut to the goal, received a clean feed from David Lau, and buried the ball in the back of the net to put the No. 10 Cornell men's lacrosse in sole possession of first place in the Ivy League with a 13-12 overtime triumph over No. 13 Penn at Schoellkopf Field.
• Lang's goal salvaged the win for the Big Red, which led by five goals at the intermission, in a game that featured a wild second half. The teams combined for 16 goals and just four saves after the break, with 15 of the goals being scored before the first save of the second half was made.
• Cornell got two goals and two assists from Lau, Rob Pannell and Chris Langton.
• Lang and Steve Mock each scored three times and Cody Bremner was credited with a pair of assists.
• Jason Noble had an outstanding game, picking up five ground balls and winning 8-of-10 second half face-offs, including the overtime restart, to give the Big Red its winning possession.
• Mike Bronzino caused three Penn turnovers in front of AJ Fiore, who picked up the win in goal by making seven saves.
• The Big Red held a 36-33 shot advantage and won the ground ball battle 39-28. Cornell won 6-of-8 face-offs in the final quarter and overtime to finish at 15-of-29 for the game, after being at a distinct disadvantage through the first three quarters.
• For the visitors, Al Kohart and Will Amling scored  four and three goals, respectively while Corey Winkoff had a goal and three assists. Freshman goalie Brian Feeney made seven saves in picking up the loss.

RECAPPING THE DENVER GAME –
•  Frustrated having gone scoreless for nearly two full games, junior Steve Mock delivered in the biggest moment. Again. Mock scored the game-tying goal with 6.2 seconds left in regulation on a great feed from Chris Langton, then found Langton for the game winner just over a minute into the extra session to give No. 4 Cornell a 9-8 win over No. 8 Denver at Hofstra's James M. Shuart Stadium.
• Big Red goalkeeper Andrew West made 12 saves and won a ground ball to pick up the win between the pipes.
• Max Van Bourgondien recorded three goals and both Langton (two goals, assist) and Mock (goal, two assists) also had three-point days.
• Thomas Keith was outstanding with the pole, winning five ground balls, while Jason Noble won 5-of-10 face-offs (rest of the team was 1-of-9) in a battle against his twin brother, Jeremy, for Denver.
• Mark Matthews scored three goals to lead Denver, while Chase Carraro and Cameron Flint each had a goal and an assist. Carraro won 13-of-19 face-offs and scooped up 11 ground balls. LaPlante made eight saves.

WEEKLY HONORS – After opening the season with home wins over Binghamton and Army, senior Rob Pannell was named Ivy League Player of the Week, while freshman Matt Donovan earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week on March 5. Pannell scored 16 points in the two wins, including posting the first 10-point contest by a Cornell player since 1995 with a six-goal, four-assist effort vs. Binghamton. Donovan had five goals and three assists in his first two collegiate games, including four goals and two assists in the win over Army.

A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING – Big Red head coach Ben DeLuca has a career 19-4 record, with three of the four losses have come against Virginia, with each coming at neutral sites (the 2011 and 2012 Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, 2011 NCAA tournament quarterfinals at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium). Cornell's only other loss under DeLuca was at Army early in the 2011 campaign.

QUICK START – Cornell scored 54 goals in its first three games of 2012, the most in three games to open a season since the 1976 national championship squad netted 60 goals in its first three contests (defeated Adelphi 24-8, Massachusetts 22-10, Rutgers 14-6). That Big Red squad went a perfect 16-0 and averaged 17.3 goals per game for the entire season, reaching double digits in each game and never being played within three goals. 

POWER 10 – Rob Pannell became the first Cornell player to score 10 points in a game with his six-goal, four-assist effort in the season-opening win over Binghamton since Chris Danler also posted 10 points in a win over Army during the 1995 campaign.

NINE IS FINE – Offensively, Cornell has scored at least nine goals in 21 of the 23 games under head coach Ben DeLuca, with 18 games in double figures. The Big Red has surrendered fewer than nine goals 14 times during that same span. Cornell scored eight goals in a 9-8 overtime loss to No. 1 Virginia on March 10, 2012, snapping a streak to 20 consecutive games of at least nine goals.

RECAPPING 2011 – In his first season at the helm of the program, head coach Ben DeLuca led the Big Red to a 14-3 record and a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals. Cornell ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation as it won its ninth consecutive Ivy League title with a perfect 6-0 conference mark, the longest stretch since Cornell won 10-straight championships between 1974 and 1983. The Big Red's nine consecutive regular-season Ivy titles is the longest current stretch by any men's lacrosse team in any conference. Cornell then went on to win its first-ever Ivy League tournament title. DeLuca became only the second coach in the history of the Ivy League to post an undefeated Ivy record in his first season, joining Ned Harkness (Cornell; 1966) and is the first coach in Cornell men's lacrosse history to lead the Big Red to the NCAA tournament in his first season. Following the season Rob Pannell '12 was selected as a first-team All-American and was named the USILA Player of the Year, the USILA Attackman of the Year, the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year, a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist and a nominee for an ESPY in the category of Best Collegiate Male Athlete. Pannell was joined on the All-American list by Max Feely '11, Roy Lang '12 and Jason Noble '13. The quartet was also named All-Ivy, along with Mike Bronzino '13 and David Lau '11.

THE HEAD COACH — After spending 10 years as first an assistant, then an associate head coach of the Big Red program, Ben DeLuca was named the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Cornell Lacrosse prior to the 2011 season. In his first campaign, he led Cornell to a 14-3 record, an undefeated Ivy League season, an Ivy League tournament title and the team's eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. 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.

FOR STARTERS - Cornell is now 62-50-5 all-time in season openers after knocking off Binghamton 17-12 on Feb. 28, 2012.

EMPIRE STATE OF MIND – Cornell has traditionally been very successful against collegiate teams from New York state, posting an all-time record of 269-157-7 (.629). Head coach Ben DeLuca has posted a record of 8-1 (.889) vs. teams from the Empire State … The Big Red faced six teams from New York state (5-1) in 2011 and is 3-0 already this season.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS – Cornell had four players named to the 2012 Face-Off Magazine Preseason All-American list. Rob Pannell, Roy Lang and Jason Noble were all named a first-team selections, while Mike Bronzino picked up an honorable mention selection.

FRESH FACES – The Big Red added 12 newcomers to the 2012 roster, six of which earned high school All-American honors. The group is comprised of six attackmen, three defensemen, two midfielders and one goalkeeper. Additionally, the players represent seven states and one Canadian province with three players hailing from New Jersey and New York, two from Maryland, and one each from California, Ohio, Tennessee and Alberta.

U-19 TEAM – This past summer, Cornell rookie Connor Buczek was selected to represent the United States on its U-19 team, which will participate in the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Under-19 World Lacrosse Championship in Turku, Finland, in July 2012.  

MUSTACHE MADNESS – This past November, the members of the Big Red men's lacrosse team participated in Lacrosse Mustache Madness to benefit the HEADStrong Foundation. As a team, Cornell raised $11,363.85, the second most of any Division I men's lacrosse team in the nation, trailing only Syracuse, which raised $13,513.42.

EIGHT STRAIGHT NCAAS – The Big Red went to the NCAA tournament for the eighth straight season after earning the Ivy League's automatic berth with a 15-6 victory over Harvard in the conference tournament title game on May 8, 2011. Cornell advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating America East tournament champion Hartford, 12-5, but fell to eventual national champion Virginia.

PANNELL IS USILA TOP WINNER – Rob Pannell was named the USILA's 2011 Lt. Raymond Enners Award winner as the Division I national player of the year and repeated as the Jack Turnbull Award winner as the Division I national attackman of the year. Pannell became just the 11th repeat winner in the 65-year history of the Turnbull Award and is the first-ever Cornellian to win the award twice in his career.

ESPY NOMINATION – Rob Pannell was nominated for a 2011 ESPY in the category of Best Male College Athlete. The ESPYs, an award show hosted by ESPN, is a celebration of the best sports moments and athletes of the year. The 2011 ESPYs was hosted by Seth Meyers and took place on Wednesday, July 13 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, Calif.

TEWAARATON FINALIST – Cornell lacrosse player Rob Pannell was named one of five finalists for the 2011 Tewaaraton Trophy, joining Jeremy Boltus (Army), John Galloway (Syracuse), Steele Stanwick (Virginia) and Joel White (Syracuse). He became the Big Red's first Tewaaraton Trophy finalist since Max Seibald '09 was a two-time finalist in 2007 and 2009.

TEWAARATON WATCH LIST, 2012 – Cornell senior men's lacrosse players Roy Lang and Rob Pannell have been named to the 2012 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch list. The duo are among 72 total players in all divisions and highlight the early contenders for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award.

PANNELL'S GOT SENIOR CLASS – Cornell senior attackman Rob Pannell has been named one of 20 finalists for the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award, given to a senior Division I student-athlete, must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR PANNELL – For the second straight year, Cornell's Rob Pannell was selected as the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year and a first-team All-Ivy selection. Pannell is the 16th Big Red player in men's lacrosse program history to earn Player of the Year honors and is just the second Cornellian to win the award twice in his career, joining Eamon McEneaney (1975, '77).  Cornell has won the Ivy League Player of the Year award in six of the past 11 seasons.

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY – Cornell placed six players on the various All-Ivy teams, joining Yale as the most of any team in the conference. Attackman Rob Pannell (unanimous), midfielder Roy Lang (unanimous) and defender Max Feely were all first-team selections, while attackman David Lau was named to the second team.  The defensive duo of Jason Noble and Mike Bronzino were both honorable mention All-Ivy selections.

IVY KINGS – Since Ivy League play began in 1956, Cornell has won a conference-high 26 titles, including the most undefeated crowns (16) of any team. The Big Red also has the best Ivy League record of any team in the conference at 233-95-1 (.710).

G-A-P LEADER – In 2011, Rob Pannell became the first Cornell player to lead the team in goals, assists and points in the same season since David Key in 2001.

40-40 MEN – Rob Pannell and Steve Mock led Cornell last season with 42 and 40 goals, respectively. The pair became the first Big Red duo to register 40 goals each since Tom Marino (46) and Eamon McEneaney (41) accomplished that feat in 1977.

IT'S A CLINCH — With its 18-5 victory over Brown on April 23, the Big Red claimed the outright Ivy League title, winning at least a share of the crown for the ninth straight season, the longest stretch since winning 10 straight championships between 1974-83. Cornell's nine consecutive regular season Ivy League titles is the longest current stretch by any men's lacrosse team in any conference in the nation.

OFFENSIVE ASSAULT – Cornell finished the 2011 season ranked second in the nation in scoring offense (12.71) and scored in double-digits in 13-of-17 outings.

SINGLE SEASON MARKS FOR PANNELL – Rob Pannell finished the 2011 season with 47 assists, good for fifth place in Cornell history for assists in a single season. Pannell also owns the fourth (51 in 2010) and eighth (42 in 2009) spots on the list … His 89 points last season was good for seventh in program history for points in a single season.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE — Since 2001, the Big Red has gone 69-14 at Schoellkopf Field, including perfect slates in 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0). Cornell is currently riding a 13-game home win streak.

11-WIN CAMPAIGN – The Big Red has posted at least 11 wins in each of the last seven seasons. Virginia is the only other team in the nation to accomplish that feat. 

ELITE COMPANY – Over the span of the past six seasons (2007-12), Cornell has racked up the third most wins (70) of any Division I men's lacrosse program, and has posted the fourth best winning percentage (78.7 percent) overall.

TOP DOG —Rob Pannell finished the 2011 season ranked in the top 10 in the nation in all three offensive categories. He finished in first place overall in points per game (5.24), second overall in assists per game (2.76) and ninth overall in goals per game (2.50).

200TH POINT – With his assist on Steve Mock's goal at the 9:30 mark of the fourth quarter against Dartmouth on April 2, 2011, Rob Pannell registered his 200th career point. He is just the third Cornell player to reach that milestone, joining Mike French (296; 1974-76) and Eamon McEneaney (256; 1975-77).

NATIONAL CAREER ASSISTS LEADER – Rob Pannell is the national leader in career assists. He currently has 149, 33 more than Virginia's Steele Stanwick, who sits in second place with 116.

GOOD OFF THE GROUND – The Big Red finished the 2011 season ranked sixth in the nation in ground balls per game, thanks in large part to defender Jason Noble, who ranked 41st in the country with 4.18 ground balls per game.

DEFENSIVE DUO –Jason Noble and Mike Bronzino finished the season ranked 21st and 34th in the nation, respectively, in caused turnovers. Noble averaged 1.76 and Bronzino averaged 1.53 caused turnovers per game.

GOING STREAKING – Senior Rob Pannell has the longest point-scoring streak in the nation, having registered a point in every game of his collegiate career (54 games). His mark of 54 games surpassed 2009 grad Ryan Hurley's school record (50).

HEADING FOR WIN NO. 700 – Cornell's 9-8 victory over No. 8 Denver on March 20, 2012 was the 696th win in program history. The Big Red is 696-443-27 all-time, and its 696 victories rank seventh among the winningest programs in collegiate lacrosse.

MOVING ON UP – With his three assists vs. Syracuse on April 12, 2011, Rob Pannell moved into second place in Cornell history for career assists. He currently needs 21 more assists to pass Eamon McEneaney and become the Big Red's all-time leader … With his eight points vs. Stony Brook on March 22, 2011, Pannell moved into third place in Cornell history, surpassing Ryan Hurley (179; 2007-10) for career points. He needs five more points to surpass Eamon McEneaney (256; 1975-77).

CHAMPIONSHIP LINEAGE – Two players on the 2012 Cornell roster have fathers that have won a national championship with the Big Red – Cody Levine (Jon '76) and Matt Taylor (Joe '80). Jon Levine was 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.

TESORIERO'S TAKES – Through the first seven games of the 2011 season, Doug Tesoriero went 12-of-26 in the face-off circle for a .462 winning percentage. In the 10 final games of the season, he took the most face-offs on the team, winning .579 of his chances (77-of-133). He has picked up right where he left off, winning 60-of-96 face-offs (.625) in the first five games of 2012, winning 30 total ground balls.

CLOSE CALLS — Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Cornell is 29-8 in games that have been decided by a single goal, a mark that was raised as the Big Red defeated Denver, 9-8, in overtime on March 20, 2012, at Hifstra's James M. Shuart Stadium. Of the eight 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).

RULE FOLLOWERS – In the 58 games played since the start of the 2009 season, the Big Red has been flagged for more penalties than its opponents on just 17 occasions.

BALANCED OFFENSE – Cornell's scoring was fairly balanced last season with the attack accounting for 58 percent of its goals (124-of-216), while the midfield registered 40 percent (87-of-216). The defense made up the final two percent (5-of-216).

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE — With its 9-7 victory over Princeton, Cornell capped the 16th undefeated Ivy League season in program history, its first since the 2007 campaign. That accomplishment made head coach Ben DeLuca only the second coach in the history of the Ivy League to post an undefeated Ivy record in his first season, joining Ned Harkness (Cornell; 1966).

SINGLE-DIGIT SUCCESS – Since 2000, Cornell has posted a 117-14 record (89.3 percent) when holding its opponent to less than 10 goals … The Big Red had its 16-game win streak in games limiting opponents to single digit goals snapped in a 9-8 overtime loss to No. 1 Virginia.

NON-CONFERENCE WINS — Cornell owns a 40-10 record in its last 50 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.

ENDING A SINGLE DIGIT STREAK – Cornell had lost seven-straight games in which it had scored less than 10 goals prior to defeating Princeton, 9-7, on April 30, 2011.

OVERTIME NOTES – With its overtime game vs. Virginia on March 10, 2012, Cornell has played at least one overtime game in each of the past six seasons, dating back to a 12-11 overtime triumph over Albany in the 2007 NCAA quarterfinals. During that span, the Big Red has posted a 6-3 record in overtime games.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN – For the second straight season, senior Rob Pannell will serve as captain of the Big Red men's lacrosse team.

NEUTRAL ZONE – Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red is 10-7 in neutral site games, with two victories over Notre Dame (Chicago, 2006 and Long Island, 2007), and 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 three times, including twice during the 2011 season (Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore, Md. and the national quarterfinals in Hempstead, N.Y). The Cavaliers also won a 9-8 overtime decision in the 2012 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore, Md.

HARD HAT – Jason Noble was selected to carry the Hard Hat for the 2012 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.

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

GEOGRAPHY LESSON – The 47 players on the 2012 Big Red roster hail from 13 different states –California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and three Canadian provinces – Alberta, 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.

NEW TO THE STAFF – Mark Wittink '00, a Big Red teammate of Ben DeLuca, has joined the Cornell coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. On the field Mark assists with the goalies, midfielders and face-off wings. He also assists in scout team preparation in practice. On game day Mark assists with the face-offs and substitution box. Off the field, Wittink has played an instrumental role in the Big Red's social media efforts, including coordinating the team's Twitter and Facebook pages.

NEXT UP – The Big Red continues its three-game road swing when it visits Dartmouth on Saturday, March 31 at 1 p.m. in Hanover, N.H. Cornell knocked off the Big Green last season at Schoellkopf Field by a 19-8 score.