GAME #18: No. 8 Cornell vs. No. 4 Duke
FACEOFF: Saturday, May 25, at 2:30 p.m.
SITE: Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pa.)
2013 Records: Cornell (14-3, 6-0 Ivy); Duke (14-5, 2-1 ACC)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 5-3
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 10-6 (3/17/09)

LIVE STATS: Gametracker 
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/
LIVE VIDEO: http://es.pn/mlax-CORNELLvsDUKE
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM
TELEVISION: ESPN2

* Register for Cornell's pregame tailgate
* Game Notes (PDF)
* Tickets

THE MATCHUP – The eighth-ranked Cornell men's lacrosse team's season continues this weekend when it takes on seventh-seeded Duke at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, May 25 at 2:30 p.m. The game will be the Big Red's fourth trip to championship weekend over the past seven seasons. In addition to being the seventh-seed, the Blue Devils are ranked fourth in the current USILA Coaches' Poll and upset second-seeded Notre Dame last weekend, 12-11.

SETTING THE SCENE –
• Coming off a pair of victories in which it has posted the greatest goal differential (+18) in the first two rounds by an unseeded team in NCAA tournament history, the Big Red will take on a Duke team that has advanced with the lowest goal differential possible, as the Blue Devils have won a  pair of one-goal nailbiters.
• Cornell holds a 5-3 advantage in the series with Duke, but has never beaten the Blue Devils in NCAA tournament play (0-2).
•  Big Red senior Rob Pannell will continue his quest to become the NCAA all-time points leader, attempting to overtake former Duke player, and current Blue Devil assistant coach, Matt Danowski, who accumulated 353 career points from 2004-08.
• The Big Red will look to become the fourth consecutive unseeded team to reach the NCAA finals, joining Maryland (2011, 2012) and Notre Dame (2010).
• The game will feature two of the hottest faceoff men in the nation in Cornell's Doug Tesoriero and Duke's Brendan Fowler. In two NCAA tournament games, Tesoriero has won 31-of-49 restarts (.632), while Fowler has won 35-of-52 (.673).
• The Big Red will also look to senior goalie AJ Fiore to continue his outstanding play in the cage. Through two NCAA tournament games, Fiore is posting a 7.00 goals-against average and a .611 save percentage. Duke sophomore Kyle Turri, who is related to two former Big Red lacrosse players - Tim '85 (uncle) and Troy '08 (cousin) - has posted a 10.5 GAA and a .405 save percentage this postseason. 
• In the history of Cornell men's lacrosse, the Big Red has faced 24 different programs in the NCAA tournament. Cornell has a winning record against 13 of those programs, is tied with five programs and has a losing record against six –  Duke (0-2), Georgetown (0-1), Johns Hopkins (2-3), Notre Dame (0-1), Syracuse (1-2) and Virginia (3-4).

SERIES HISTORY VS. DUKE (Cornell leads, 5-3) — After a 37-year hiatus, the Cornell - Duke rivalry was renewed in the 2005 NCAA quarterfinals when the Blue Devils beat Cornell, 11-8. That victory by Duke pulled the series even at two games apiece, but the Big Red has since taken a 5-3 advantage with wins over the Blue Devils in Durham in three straight regular season games (11-7 in 2006; 7-6 in 2007; 10-6 in 2009), while Duke took a 12-11 victory in the 2007 national semifinal. The two lacrosse programs first met in 1953 and played a total of three times prior to the 1968 season.

CORNELL VS. THE ACC – Cornell is 16-28-1 all-time vs. the current members of the ACC, due mostly to a 4-13-1 record against Maryland. The Big Red holds a winning record vs. Duke (5-3) and North Carolina (4-3) but has a losing mark vs. the Terrapins and Virginia (4-9) ... head coach Ben DeLuca is 2-3 vs. the ACC, including a mark of 2-0 this season with wins over Virginia and Maryland.

A WIN OVER DUKE WOULD –
• be the first-ever over Duke in an NCAA tournament game.
• improve Cornell to 33-21 overall in NCAA tournament games.
• propel the Big Red into the NCAA championship game for the second time in five seasons and eighth time in program history.
• be Cornell's third consecutive victory against an ACC opponent.
• improve head coach Ben DeLuca's career record to 38-10 and 4-1 in NCAA tournament games.
• give the Big Red 15 victories in a season for the first time in three years under DeLuca.
• improve Cornell to 6-3 in the series with the Blue Devils and even DeLuca's record at 3-3 all-time vs. the ACC.
• be the 715th 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 37-10 overall record.

HOW'D WE GET HERE – With its eighth-ranked RPI, the Big Red earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after finishing the regular season with a 12-3 record overall and mark of 6-0 in the Ivy League. Cornell advanced to the semifinal round with a 16-6 victory over third-seed Ohio State in the quarterfinal round last weekend. Duke earned a number seven seed out of the ACC. The Blue Devils scored the game's final three goals in its quarterfinal contest againsts second-seeded Notre Dame to rally from an 11-9 deficit in the fourth quarter and capture its second straight one-goal NCAA Tournament victory last weekend.

PLAYING WITH A LEAD - Cornell has yet to trail an opponent in NCAA tournament play this season. The Big Red has been deadlocked with its opponents for a total of 6:02 all tournament long, a mark that includes a combined 1:13 at the start of its two games (0-0) and 4:49 of a 1-1 tie with Ohio State.

SHOT STOPPER - In his two NCAA tournament appearances this season, senior goalie AJ Fiore has collected more saves than the opposing goalie in 7-of-8 quarters of play.

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 second all-time with 347 and needs seven more points to surpass the all-time leader Matt Danowski (Duke; 2004-08).

FOUR SURE — Cornell has had its share of Final Four appearances in NCAA team competition over the years. Of those Big Red teams, the men's lacrosse team has made the most appearances with 13 overall.
• Men's Lacrosse (13) - 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1987, 1988, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013
• Men's Ice Hockey (8) - 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980, 2003
• Women's Ice Hockey (3) – 2010, 2011, 2012
• Women's Lacrosse (1) - 2002
• Men's Soccer (1) – 1972

RANKED OPPONENTS – Duke will be the 11th nationally ranked opponent that Cornell will play so far this season. The Big Red is 7-3 vs. those opponents with all three losses coming by a single goal (9-8 vs. Bucknell; 13-12 vs. Syracuse; 14-13 (OT) vs. Princeton).

TOP 10 ABSENCE – Of the 10 winningest programs in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse history, only two – Cornell and Syracuse – are still participating in the 2013 NCAA tournament. Maryland, the only other team on the list to make the tournament this season, was knocked out in the first round by the Big Red.

NOTING THE OHIO STATE GAME –
• The 11 goals scored by Cornell in the first half were the most by the Big Red in an NCAA tournament game since a semifinal round victory over Navy in 1977. 
• AJ Fiore matched the great Paul Schimoler for second in career goalkeeper wins at Cornell (38).
• Steve Mock posted the Big Red's third natural hat trick of the season with three goals in a span of 1:25 in the first quarter.
• Steve Mock posted seven goals, matching a school record in an NCAA tournament game. The mark was originally set by Mike French with his legendary seven-goal effort in the 1976 NCAA championship game against Maryland.
• It was the first time any Cornell player has scored seven or more goals in a game since David Mitchell notched eight in a win over Binghamton in 2006.
• Mock moved into eighth on the Ivy League's career goals list (143) and into third all-time at Cornell.
• With Mock's 25 career goals in NCAA tournament play, only Mike French '77 has scored more (28) at Cornell.
• Rob Pannell recorded eight points (two goals, six assists) and moved into second on the NCAA's career scoring list. He ended the afternoon with 347 points, surpassing Air Force's Joe Vasta '86 (343 points). He also moved within six points of Duke's Matt Danowksi '08, who was credited with 353 points.
• Pannell's six assists give him 202 for his career, making him just the second Ivy League player to reach 200 career assists, joinng Brown's Darren Lowe '92 (205).
• Pannell's six assists were one shy of the Cornell single-game NCAA record of seven set by Hall of Famer Eamon McEneaney against Rutgers in 1975.
• Pannell's eight points were tied for fourth in a single game in Cornell NCAA tournament history. He now has 15 points in two NCAA games this season, tied for the fifth most points by a Big Red player in a single NCAA tournament.
• Pannell's eight points were the most in an NCAA game by a Cornell player since Tim Goldstein's eight points against Johns Hopkins in the 1987 national championship game.
• After three quarters with both team's starters in, Cornell had 16 goals and Ohio State had 14 total shots.
• Cornell improved to 31-1 when leading heading into the fourth quarter under head coach Ben DeLuca.
• The Big Red is now 115-11 (.913) when reaching double figures dating back to the 2002 season.

NOTING THE MARYLAND GAME –
• Cornell's 16 goals against Maryland was a season high against the Terps defense. Prior to the game, the Terrapins had allowed 10 or more goals just three times with a season high of 13.
• It was the most goals scored by a Big Red team in the NCAA tournament since posting 15 against Virginia during the 2009 NCAA semifinal.
• The eight-goal differential was Maryland's worst loss since 2008 (15-7 at Duke), its most lopsided home loss since 2006 (15-5 vs. Virginia) and its most lopsided postseason loss since its defeat in the 1997 NCAA final (19-7 vs. Princeton).
• Senior Steve Mock scored goals five seconds apart in the fourth quarter, breaking a Cornell record for fastest consecutive goals by the same player.
• Mock scored four goals, including his 50th of the season. He became the first Cornell player to score 50 or more goals in a year since Mike French tallied 65 in 1976.
• Senior Rob Pannell moved into second place on the school's career goal scoring list and into eighth on the Ivy League charts with 143. He surpassed Cornell's Ryan Hurley (139) and Harvard's Jeff Cohen (142).
• Cornell's 31 shots against Maryland was a season low. It put 84 percent on goal, by far a season high (64 percent vs. Dartmouth).
• The Big Red improved to 3-1 against the Terrapins in NCAA Tournament play in a series it trails 13-4-1.
• Junior Doug Tesoriero had 13 ground balls in the win, giving him 112 on the year. He became the eighth Big Red player to record at least 100 ground balls in a season and the first since John Glynn in 2009 (105).
• Tesoriero's 13 ground balls were the most by a Cornell player in an NCAA game since 1995 when Brian Rodgers had 14 against Brown.

NEUTRAL ZONE – Cornell is 4-4 in neutral site games under head coach Ben DeLuca with the team's most recent victory coming in a 16-6 triumph against Ohio State on May 18, 2013 at Byrd Stadium (College Park, Md.).

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS – Cornell's 32 NCAA tournament victories ranks fifth all-time, while its 25 appearances ranks seventh … Only six teams have more national titles than the Big Red … The 2013 season marks Cornell's ninth trip to the NCAA tournament in the past 10 years, making it to the quarterfinal round seven times, the semifinals four times and the national championship once during that span.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP LINEAGE – Two players on the 2013 roster have fathers that won a national championship with the Big Red – Cody Levine (Jon '76) and Matt Taylor (Joe '80). Jon Levine won a title in 1976, while Joe Taylor won with the 1977 squad … Additionally, Connor Entenmann's father, Ken '85, and Russell Scott's uncle, Sam Happel '82, were both on the national semifinalist team in 1982, while Mike O'Neil's uncle, Geoff Hall '88, played on the national runner up squads in 1987 and 1988.

TEWAARATON TROPHY FINALIST – For the second time in his career, Rob Pannell has been named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy. A finalist in 2011 also, he is the second two-time Tewaaraton Trophy finalist in Cornell history, joining Max Seibald '09 (2007, 2009).

50-50 – With 59 goals and 53 assists, respectively, Steve Mock and Rob Pannell became the first pair of Cornell teammates to register 50 goals and 50 assists in the same season since Mike French scored 65 goals and Eamon McEneaney tallied 61 assists in 1976.

SEEKING IVY ASSIST RECORD – The all-time Cornell career assist leader, Rob Pannell ranks second in Ivy League history,  needing four more assists to pass Brown's Darren Lowe (205; 1989-92).

FACE-OFF FRENZY – With his 15 faceoff wins vs. Maryland, Doug Tesoriero registered the most faceoff wins by a Cornell player (195) since that statistic started being kept during the 1977 season, breaking the mark held by Clayton Weber (192 in 1995). He currently has 226 wins on the season. 

ELITE COMPANY – Over the span of the past five seasons (2009-13), Cornell has racked up the third-most wins (62) and the fourth best winning percentage (.756) of any Division I men's lacrosse program.

GROUND BALL GUY – With his career-high 13 ground balls at Maryland, Doug Tesoriero became just the eighth player in Big Red history to collect at least 100 ground balls in a season, and the first since John Glynn picked up 105 in 2009. He needs six more to break the Cornell season record, currently held by Craig Jaeger, who picked up 127 in 1978.

GAINING ON GOALS LIST – Rob Pannell currently sits in second place in Cornell history with 145 career goals, trailing all-time leader Mike French by 46 tallies. Steve Mock sits directly behind Pannell in third place all-time with 143 career goals

ALL-TIME IVY LEADER – With his three points at Brown on April 20, Rob Pannell set the all-time Ivy League points record, passing Brown's Darren Lowe (316; 1989-92).

NATIONAL CAREER ASSISTS LEADER – Rob Pannell is the national active leader in career assists with 202. That is 85 more assists than Lehigh's David DiMara, who sits in second place with 117.

MOCK FROM PANNELL – So far this season, Rob Pannell has been credited with the assist on 27 of Steve Mock's 59 goals (46 percent). Of the 129 goals Mock has scored while playing with Pannell (14 were scored during Pannell's injury in 2012), 51 have been assisted on by Pannell (40 percent).

HITTING THEIR SPOTS – The Big Red has put at least 20 shots on goal in each of its last 10 games, and 14-of-17 contests this season. Meanwhile, the Cornell defense has allowed opponents to put 20 shots on goal just five times.

CAUSING A COMMOTION – Senior Jason Noble has registered the third-most career caused turnovers among all active Division I defenders with 115.

JUST WIN, BABY – Senior AJ Fiore has the second most career wins (38) of any active Division I goalie, sitting one victory behind Bucknell's Kyle Feeney (39). He sits two victories ahead of John Kemp (Notre Dame) in third place.

TOP 10 NATION – The Big Red opened the week ranked in the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories, including scoring offense (second – 14.59), man-down defense (fourth – .774), scoring margin (first – 5.94), assists (fourth – 7.76), points per game (second – 22.35), ground balls per game (fourth – 37.47), caused turnovers per game (second – 10.12) and shooting percentage (eighth –.325).

FOURTH QUARTER CONTROL – When the Big Red has a lead heading into the final quarter of play, the team is nearly perfect, going 12-1 so far this season and 31-1 all-time under head coach Ben DeLuca. Cornell had won 27 games in a row when leading at the end of the third quarter before a 13-12 set-back to Syracuse on April 10, 2013.

BALANCED OFFENSE – So far this season, Cornell has gotten 212 points from its attack (56 percent) and 168 points from its midfield and defense. 

GOOD OFF THE GROUND – The Big Red entered the week ranked fourth in the nation with 37.47 ground balls per contest, thanks in large part to Doug Tesoriero (13th – 7.18 gbpg.) and Thomas Keith (37th – 4.88 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 54 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 123-of-182 games (.676).

NINE IS FINE – Offensively, Cornell has scored at least nine goals in 44 of the 47 games (94 percent) under head coach Ben DeLuca, with 38 games in double figures. The Big Red has surrendered nine or fewer goals 29 times during that same span.

RULE FOLLOWERS – In the 80 games played since the start of the 2009 season, the Big Red has been flagged for more penalties than its opponents on just 26 occasions.

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 … Just over one month later, senior Max Van Bourgondien posted a natural hat trick at Harvard in a span of 1:46 in the fourth quarter to give Cornell the 14-12 victory ... In Cornell's NCAA quarterfinal game vs. Ohio State, Steve Mock posted the Big Red's third natural hat trick of the season with three goals in a span of 1:25 in the first quarter.

TITLE CONTENDERS – Cornell University has made 12 appearances in various NCAA national championship games … The Big Red has had five teams crowned as national champions.
• Men's Lacrosse (7) – 1971 (W), 1976 (W), 1977 (W), 1978, 1987, 1988, 2009
• Men's Ice Hockey (4) – 1967 (W), 1969, 1970 (W), 1972
• Women's Ice Hockey (1) – 2010

NEXT UP – With a victory over Duke, the Big Red would advance to the NCAA championship game for the second time in five seasons, making the program's eighth appearance overall, taking on the winner of the Syracuse/Denver matchup on Monday, May 27 at 1 p.m.