GAME #12: No. 2 Cornell at No. 8 Syracuse
FACEOFF: Wednesday, April 10, at 6:00 p.m.
SITE: The Carrier Dome (Syracuse, N.Y.)
2013 Records: Cornell (10-1, 4-0 Ivy); Syracuse (7-2, 2-1 Big East)
SERIES RECORD: Syracuse leads, 67-37-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 12-6 (4/10/12)

LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/syracuse/mlax/scoreboard.aspx
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/
LIVE VIDEO: http://es.pn/mlax-CORNELLvsCUSE
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM
TELEVISION: ESPNU

Game Notes (PDF)

THE MATCHUP — The No. 2 Big Red men's lacrosse team will travel up Interstate 81 to take on No. 8 Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday, April 10 at 6 p.m. The game can be seen by a nationwide audience on ESPNU. Eamon McAnaney will be on the play-by-play with Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra providing the analysis.   

SERIES HISTORY VS. SYRACUSE — The Cornell and Syracuse rivalry began in 1920 with a 5-3 victory for the Orangemen. Since that time, there have been only four seasons (1944, 1945, 1977, 1978) that the two squads have not faced each other. Syracuse holds the edge in the series, 61-37-1, but the Big Red has won the last two outings. Since the 2000 season, the series has been extremely close, with the Orange holding an 8-6 lead as the teams have played five one-goal games, with two others being decided by two goals.

LOOKING AT THE ORANGE — Syracuse has won its last two outings, defeating Canisius and No. 8 Princeton to improve to 7-2 overall. The Orange have eight players with at least 10 points, led by JoJo Marasco's 30 points on 10 goals and team-high 20 assists, while Derek Maltz leads Syracuse with 16 goals. Faceoff man Chris Daddio is winning 49 percent of his restarts (68-140) and has a team-high 27 ground balls. He is relieved by Brendan Conroy, who has won 43 percent (26-61). In net, the Orange has used the tandem of Bobby Wardwell and Dominic Lamolinara. Wardwell has played in seven games, with five starts, and has posted a 9.22 goals-against average and a .459 save percentage. Lamolinara has played in five games, with four starts, and has posted an 8.14 GAA and a .581 save percentage.  

A WIN OVER SYRACUSE WOULD –
• improve head coach Ben DeLuca's career record to 34-8 and 3-0 vs. the Orange.
• make Cornell 10-1 to start a season for the first time in three seasons under DeLuca.
• extend the Big Red's current winning streak to five games.
• extend the Big Red's winning streak over the Orange to three games.
• make the members of the senior class 3-1 vs. Syracuse.
• be the 711th win in program history.

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. Now in his third season with Cornell, he holds a 33-8 overall record.

NOBLE'S GOT SENIOR CLASS – Jason Noble has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award in men's lacrosse. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website or on the Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through May 13. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner.

THE 300 – With his five points vs. Siena on March 26, Rob Pannell became the eighth player in the history of NCAA Division I men's lacrosse, and second in the Ivy League, to register 300 career points. He currently ranks fifth all-time with 311 and needs just six points to pass fellow Ivy Leaguer Darren Lowe (Brown).

IVY MARKS IN SIGHT – With his assault on the Cornell record book complete, Rob Pannell has the all-time Ivy League points and assists records in his sight. He ranks second in conference history in both categories, needing just 24 more assists and six more points to pass Brown's Darren Lowe (1989-92), who is the Ivy League all-time leader in both categories.

LEADING MAN – With his three points against Penn on March 23, Rob Pannell became the Big Red's all-time leading point scorer, surpassing Mike French (296; 1974-76). Earlier in the season, his four assists at Virginia on March 9, 2013 moved him into first place in Cornell history for career assists, overtaking Eamon McEneaney '77 (164).

TOP 10 NATION – The Big Red opened the week ranked in the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories, including scoring offense (second – 14.6), scoring defense (10th – 8.0), scoring margin (first – 6.6), points per game (second – 22.0), ground balls per game (third – 36.6) and caused turnovers per game (first – 11.1).

MOCK FROM PANNELL – So far this season, Rob Pannell has been credited with the assist on 16 of Steve Mock's 36 goals (44 percent). Of the 107 goals Mock has scored while playing with Pannell (14 were scored during Pannell's injury in 2012), 40 have been assisted on by Pannell (37 percent).

THE CENTURY MARK – In the 2013 season opener against Hobart, senior attackman Steve Mock became the 39th player in Cornell history to reach 100 career points. On March 16 against Yale, he became just the seventh Cornell player all-time to accumulate 100 career goals.

NATIONAL CAREER ASSISTS LEADER – Rob Pannell is the national leader in career assists with 82. That is 80 more assists than Lehigh's David DiMara, who sits in second place with 98.

GAINING ON GOALS LIST – Rob Pannell is currently in fourth place in Cornell history with 129 career goals and needs just seven more to match Sean Greenhalgh (2002-05) in third place … Steve Mock currently sits in seventh place with 121 career goals and needs just two to match Jon Levine (1974-76) with 123.

EMPIRE STATE OF MIND – Cornell has traditionally been very successful against collegiate teams from New York state, posting an all-time record of 275-157-7 (.634). Head coach Ben DeLuca has posted a record of 14-1 (.933) vs. teams from the Empire State … The Big Red will face six teams from New York in 2013 and is currently 5-0 in those games … Cornell currently has an 12-game winning streak against teams from the Empire State.

NON-CONFERENCE WINS — Cornell owns a 47-11 record in its last 58 regular-season non-conference games (81 percent), dating back to the Big Red's 16-14 victory over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on April 12, 2005.

RANKED OPPONENTS – Syracuse is the sixth ranked opponent Cornell will play this season. The Big Red is 4-1 vs. those opponents with the lone loss coming in a 9-8 defeat against Bucknell.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK BRIGADE – Cornell has had five Ivy League Player of the Week selections so far this season. Rob Pannell (Feb. 25, March 11) and Steve Mock (March 18, April 8) have each earned the honor twice, while Jason Noble (March 4) has earned the award one time.

BALANCED OFFENSE – During the 2012 season, the Big Red showed tremendous balance in its scoring with the attack accounting for 73 goals and 38 assists (111 points), while the midfielders and defensive players combined for 81 goals and 35 assists (116 points). So far this season, Cornell has gotten 136 points from its attack and 106 points from its midfield and defense.

WIN NO. 700 – Cornell's 12-6 victory over Syracuse on April 10, 2012 was the 700th win in program history. The Big Red is now 710-444-27 all-time, and its 710 victories rank seventh among the winningest programs in collegiate lacrosse.

GOOD OFF THE GROUND – The Big Red entered the week ranked third in the nation with 36.6 ground balls per contest, thanks in large part to Doug Tesoriero (22nd – 5.64 gbpg.) and Thomas Keith (33rd – 5.09 gbpg.).

HUMAN VACUUM – Jason Noble has been the Big Red's most consistent ground ball guy, registering at least one ground ball in all but one game during his career. He currently has the longest streak on the team at 48 games.

SINGLE-DIGIT DEFENSE – Since his time as the defensive coordinator of the Big Red began during the 2002 season as an assistant coach, now-head coach Ben DeLuca has led a defensive unit that has held opponents to single-digits in 120-of-176 games (.682).

NINE IS FINE – Offensively, Cornell has scored at least nine goals in 38 of the 41 games (93 percent) under head coach Ben DeLuca, with 32 games in double figures. The Big Red has surrendered nine or fewer goals 26 times during that same span.

RULE FOLLOWERS – In the 74 games played since the start of the 2009 season, the Big Red has been flagged for more penalties than its opponents on just 22 occasions.

DISMISSING DARTMOUT – Cornell's 21-goal output against Dartmouth on March 30 was the Big Red's highest scoring outing in four seasons, as it defeated Penn, 21-10, on March 28, 2009.

THE NATURAL – Sophomore Matt Donovan registered a natural hat trick against Canisius on March 5, scoring three times in the span of 1:49 in the fourth quarter. It was the Big Red's first natural hat trick since Scott Austin posted three consecutive goals in a span of 4:39 in the fourth quarter of an 18-7 victory against Yale on March 20, 2010. Of Donovan's three goals, one was a man-down, one was a man-up and one was at even strength.

A NOBLE EFFORT – After holding the reigning Tewaaraton Trophy winner to just one meaningless assist and only three shots, none of which were one goal, in Cornell's 19-3 victory against Colgate, Jason Noble was named the Ivy League Co-Player of the Week. He is the first defensemen to win the award since Brown's Peter Fallon on April 26, 2010.

11th HEAVEN – For the 11th time in his career, Rob Pannell has earned one of the Ivy League's weekly honors, as he was named the conference's Player of the Week on March 11. The senior attackman was named Rookie of the Week twice during his freshman season and has gone on to pick up nine Player of the Week awards, including twice already this season.

TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH – The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced the 2013 Tewaaraton Award men's watch list and a trio of Cornell players – Connor English, Steve Mock, and Rob Pannell – have made the initial cut. The list includes the top players across all three divisions of NCAA lacrosse and highlights the early contenders for the 2013 Tewaaraton Award.

ELITE COMPANY – Over the span of the past five seasons (2008-12), Cornell has racked up the fifth-most wins (59) of any Division I men's lacrosse program and has posted the fifth-best winning percentage (73.8 percent) overall.

CLOSE CALLS — Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Cornell is 30-11 in games that have been decided by a single goal, a mark that was lowered when the Big Red fell to No. 15 Bucknell, 9-8, on March 19, 2013, in Ithaca, N.Y. Of the 11 losses, five have come against a team ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE — Since 2001, the Big Red has gone 76-16 at Schoellkopf Field, including perfect slates in 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0).

NEUTRAL ZONE – Cornell is 2-4 in neutral site games under head coach Ben DeLuca with the team's most recent victory coming in a 19-11 triumph against Hobart on Feb. 24, 2013 in the Carrier Dome (Syracuse, N.Y.).

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS … AND THE RUNNERS UP – Cornell had three players participate in the Federation of International Lacrosse U19 World Championships, held last summer in Turku, Finland. Connor Buczek and the United States took home the gold medal, while Dan Lintner and Brennan Donville both won silver with Team Canada.

FOR STARTERS - Cornell is 63-50-5 all-time in season openers and has won its last 10 season openers dating back to a 13-6 loss to Georgetown in the first game of the 2003 season.

IVY OPENERS – The Big Red's victory at Yale on March 16 marked the 58th Ivy League season opener for Cornell men's lacrosse. Since the league began play in the 1956 season, the Big Red has posted a 43-15 record in Ivy League openers, including winning its last 14, dating back to the 1999 season when it fell to the Bulldogs, 7-6. More often than not, Cornell has met either Yale or Harvard in the conference opener, playing a different school on only six occasions.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN – For the third straight season, Rob Pannell will serve as captain of the Big Red men's lacrosse team. He is joined by fellow seniors Steve Mock, Jason Noble and Tom Trasolini.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS – Cornell had five players named to the 2013 Face-Off Magazine Preseason All-America list. Rob Pannell and Jason Noble were named first-team selections, while Matt Donovan was a third-team pick. Both Doug Tesoriero and Mike Bronzino earned an honorable mention selection.

HARD HAT – Joe Paoletta was selected to carry the Hard Hat for the 2013 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.

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 2012 season-opening win over Binghamton since Chris Danler also posted 10 points in a win over Army during the 1995 campaign.

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.

IVY KINGS – Since Ivy League play began in 1956, Cornell has won a conference-high 26 titles (tied with Princeton), including 16 undefeated crowns. The Big Red also has the best Ivy League record of any team in the conference at 236-97-1 (.708).

CONFERENCE WIN-STREAK SNAPPED – The Big Red's nine consecutive regular-season Ivy titles was snapped by Princeton on April 28, 2012. At the time, Cornell's nine titles was the longest current stretch by any men's lacrosse team in any conference.
 
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 Mike O'Neil's uncle, Geoff Hall, played on the Big Red's national runner up squads in 1987 and 1988.

GEOGRAPHY LESSON – The 42 players on the 2013 Big Red roster hail from 12 different states –California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 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.

HI, MY NAME IS – Fred Rothman, an eight-year member of the Cornell sprint football staff, has joined the Big Red lacrosse staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2013 season. A 1971 graduate of Oceanside High School, he played both football and lacrosse before attending SUNY Oswego, where he was a member of the lacrosse team. The former principal at nearby Whitney Point High School, Rothman will work specifically with the Big Red's goalie corps.

FRESH FACES – The Big Red added six newcomers to the 2013 roster, five of whom earned high school All-America honors. The group is consists of three midfielders, one attackman, one defenseman and one goalkeeper. Additionally, the players represent three states and one Canadian province, with two players hailing from both New York and Connecticut, and one each from California and Ontario.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR –Matt Donovan was named the unanimous 2012 Ivy League Rookie of the Year. He is the fifth Big Red player to earn the honor, joining Paul Schimoler (1986), Sean Greenhalgh (2002), Max Seibald (2006) and Rob Pannell (2009).

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY – In addition to being named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Matt Donovan was also named second-team All-Ivy. Roy Lang '12 and Jason Noble '13 were named first-team All-Ivy, while senior Chris Langton'12 joined Donovan on the second-team. Steve Mock '13 and Thomas Keith '13 earned honorable mention selections.

RECAPPING 2012 – Despite losing Rob Pannell, the reigning USILA National Player of the Year, in just its second game of the season, the Big Red still managed to be highly competitive throughout 2012, ranking as high as third in the country before seeing its season come to an end in the opening round of the Ivy League Tournament. Cornell finished the year with a 9-4 record overall and a mark of 4-2 in the conference, good for a second-place finish in the league standings. Freshman Matt Donovan was named the unanimous Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Senior Roy Lang and junior Jason Noble were named first-team All-Ivy, while Donovan was joined on the second team by senior Chris Langton and juniors Thomas Keith and Steve Mock were named honorable mention selections. Lang (third-team) and Noble (second-team) also added All-America honors to their list of postseason awards, while Langton was selected to participate in the USILA North/South Senior All-Star Game.

NEXT UP – The Big Red will enjoy a well-deserved nine-day break before travelling to Brown on Saturday, April 20. Faceoff is slated for 3 p.m.