Game Notes (PDF)

Game Details
Game 8: No. 5/5 Cornell vs. Harvard
Series Record: Cornell leads, 62-23
Date: Saturday, April 7, 2012
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Field: Schoellkopf Field
Location: Ithaca, N.Y.

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

THE MATCHUP — The No. 5 Cornell men's lacrosse team welcomes Harvard to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, April 7 with an eye towards extending several winning streaks. The Big Red is currently riding a four-game winning streak on the season, as well as a nation's-best 13-game home field winning streak. Cornell will also seek its 15th consecutive victory over the Crimson, which would be the longest in the history of its rivalry with Harvard. The Big Red remains at the top of the Ivy League with a 7-1 record overall and a mark of 3-0 in the conference. Harvard has won three of its last four contest to improve its record to 5-4 overall and a perfect 2-0 in the league.

SERIES HISTORY VS. HARVARD — Although official Ivy League play began in 1956, the Cornell and Harvard rivalry dates back nearly as far as both teams' lacrosse programs, as the two squads first squared off in the 1895 season. The Big Red won that first meeting, 2-1, and has dominated the series ever since, holding a 62-23 overall record against the Crimson, and is currently riding a 14-game winning streak.

LOOKING AT THE CRIMSON — Harvard has won three of its last four contests to improve its record to 5-4 overall and 2-0 in the Ivy League. The Crimson is averaging just over 10 goals per game offensively, but has surrendered just under 10 goals per game on the defensive side of the ball. Jeff Cohen leads the team in goals (36) and points (40), while Daniel Eipp and Kevin Vaughan have handed out a team-high 14 assists with Eipp adding 19 goals to the Crimson cause. Keegan Michel has taken the majority of face offs man and has won 61 percent of his chances while posting a team-high 36 ground balls. In goal, Harry Krieger and Jake Gambitsky have split time with each playing in five games and making four starts. Krieger started the first four games of the season and posted a .559 save percentage and a 7.65 goals-against average, while Gambitsky has started Harvard's last four games and has registered a .474 save percentage and a 10.49 GAA.

A WIN OVER HARVARD WOULD –
• improve head coach Ben DeLuca's career record to 22-4.
• extend the Big Red's current winning streak to five games.
• make Cornell 8-1 to start a season for the first time under DeLuca and the first time since 2008.
• improve the Big Red to 4-0 in Ivy League play for the 10th time since the 2000 season.
• extend the Big Red's winning streak over the Crimson to a series-best 15 games.
• make Cornell 63-23 all-time against Harvard.
• extend Cornell's nation-best home field winning streak to 14 games.
• be the 699th win in program history
• make the members of the senior class 5-0 vs. Harvard.

LAST TIME VS. THE CRIMSON –
• The Big Red won its first-ever Ivy League tournament title with a 15-6 win over No. 17 Harvard on May 8, 2011 at Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell used a suffocating defense and an offense that rolled through the final 32 minutes with 13 goals.
• In all, 10 different players registered at least one point and eight Big Red players caused at least one turnover.
• A three-minute unreleasable illegal stick penalty on Harvard late in the second quarter turned a tight 2-2 game into 5-2 Cornell advantage early in the third quarter.
• Cornell dominated the face-off circle against one of the nation's best groups, winning 15-of-23 draws, thanks to Doug Tesoriero (12-of-18) and Mitch McMichael (3-of-5).
• Rob Pannell, the tournament's MVP, registered five points with two goals and three assists, while all-tournament selection Steve Mock scored five times and David Lau was credited with two goals and two assists.
• Harvard's Harry Krieger was solid in goal, registering 16 saves, nine of which came in the first half as he kept the Crimson within striking distance.
• Matt Hull led the Harvard offense with three goals and an assist and Ryan Stevens notched two scores.

RECAPPING THE DARTMOUTH GAME –
• Cornell limited Dartmouth to just one goal through the first 41:01 of the game and then held off a late Big Green run to escape Scully-Fahey Field with a 7-5 victory on March 31.
•The Big Red defense was impressive for long stretches of time, causing seven of Dartmouth's 20 turnovers and holding the Big Green to 1-of-5 in extra-man opportunities.
•Sophomore Andrew West made five saves, three of which were from point-blank range, and allowed four goals through the first 51:23 of the contest before giving way to AJ Fiore, who made three outstanding saves and allowed just one goal in the final 8:37 of play.
•Cornell was dominant in the face-off circle, winning 11-of-15 restarts, with Doug Tesoriero going 10-of-13 and collecting a game-high six ground balls.
•The offense was led by Steve Mock and Chris Langton with two goals apiece, while Matt Donovan quarterbacked the team with three assists.
• Roy Lang (two assists) and Max Van Bourgondien (one goal, one assist) both registered multi-point games, while Connor English and Mitch McMichael finished with one tally apiece.
•Nikki Dysenchuk (three goals), Kip Dooley (one goal, two assists) and Brendan Rotanz (one goal, one assist) combined for all but one of Dartmouth's points on the day.
•Senior goalie Fergus Campbell kept the Big Green in the game with eight saves and six ground balls. 
•Cornell held the advantage in shots (34-24) and ground balls (30-27), but went just 2-of-7 on extra man opportunities. Both teams turned the ball over 20 times with one failed clear apiece.

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.

REVERSING THE TREND – Since taking over the Big Red program, head coach Ben DeLuca's squad has scored less than 10 goals on just eight occasions. In the four single-digit games in his first season (2011), Cornell went 1-3 but the Big Red has reversed that trend in the 2012 campaign, posting a record of 3-1 in games in which it scored less than 10 goals.

HEADING FOR WIN NO. 700 – Cornell's 7-5 victory over Dartmouth on March 31, 2012 was the 698th win in program history. The Big Red is 698-443-27 all-time, and its 698 victories rank seventh among the winningest programs in collegiate lacrosse.

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 nation-leading 13-game home win streak.

UNLUCKY NUMBER 7 – With its 7-5 victory over Dartmouth, the Big Red snapped a four-game losing streak in games in which it scored seven or fewer goals dating back to a 6-4 victory over Princeton on May 16, 2009.

WEEKLY HONORS III – Freshman Matt Donovan won his third Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor on April 2 after leading the Big Red to a 7-5 win at Dartmouth by assisting on a career-high three goals. The rookie attackman provided feeds that led to three consecutive Cornell tallies spanning the second and third quarters to help the Big Red jump out to a 5-1 lead.

WEEKLY HONORS II – For the second time this season, Cornell men's lacrosse players swept the Ivy League weekly awards, this time on March 26. Junior attackman Steve Mock was named Ivy Player of the Week, while freshman attackman Matt Donovan was named Ancient Eight co-Rookie of the Week. Mock scored four goals and assisted on three others as the Big Red knocked off No. 8 Denver in overtime before rallying for a 16-11 win at Penn. Donovan earned his second rookie of the week nod of the season after posting three goals and two assists in two starts for the nationally ranked Big Red.

WEEKLY HONORS I – 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.

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 235-95-1 (.711).

ELITE COMPANY – Over the span of the past five seasons (2008-12), Cornell has racked up the fourth most wins (57) of any Division I men's lacrosse program, and has posted the fifth best winning percentage (76.0 percent) overall.

NEXT TO 100? – Junior attackman Steve Mock is looking to become the 39th player to reach 100 career points in school history and enters the Harvard contest with 90 (79 goals, 11 assists). He also is 21 goals away from becoming the seventh Cornell player with 100 goals. Rob Pannell became the sixth 100-goal scorer earlier this season.

BALANCED OFFENSE – So far this season, the Big Red has shown tremendous balance in its scoring with the attack accounting for 51 goals and 31 assists, while the midfielders and defensive players have combined for 50 goals and 21 assists.

GOOD OFF THE GROUND – The Big Red ranks 11th in the nation in ground balls per game (33.0), thanks in large part to defender Jason Noble and midfielder Doug Tesoriero who each rank 22nd in the country with 4.88 ground balls per game.

RULE FOLLOWERS – In the 59 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.

SINGLE-DIGIT SUCCESS – Since 2000, Cornell has posted a 118-14 record (89.4 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 earlier this season, but has run a new streak to three straight after defeating Dartmouth, 7-5, on March 31

A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING – Big Red head coach Ben DeLuca has a career 21-4 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.

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 22 of the 25 games under head coach Ben DeLuca, with 19 games in double figures. The Big Red has surrendered fewer than nine goals 15 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.

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. 

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

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.

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.

EIGHT STRAIGHT NCAAS – The Big Red has made eight consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.

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.

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. 

NATIONAL CAREER ASSISTS LEADER – Despite having not played since March 3, Rob Pannell is still the national leader in career assists with 149. That is 24 more assists than Virginia's Steele Stanwick, who sits in second place with 125.

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.

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 Hofstra'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).

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.

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.

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).

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.

NEXT UP – Cornell remains at home for its next two contests, first facing instate rival Syracuse in a mid-week matchup on Tuesday, April 10 at 7 p.m., before welcoming Brown to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, April 21 at 3 p.m.