Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #13: Cornell vs. Brown
FACE OFF: Saturday, April 19, at Noon
SITE: Schoellkopf Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2014 Records: Cornell (9-3, 3-1 Ivy); Brown (6-5, 1-3 Ivy)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 35-18
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 13-7, April 20, 2013 in Providence, R.I.

RADIO: WHCU 870 AM
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/mlax/ 
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell 
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell 
TELEVISION: None
 
THE MATCHUP: The No. 12 Cornell men's lacrosse team will look to end a three-game skid and honor the eight-member class of 2014 when it welcomes Brown to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, April 19 for its Senior Day contest at noon. The Big Red is tied with Harvard atop the Ivy League standings and enters the final two weekends of conference play with a pair of crucial contests, beginning with the Bears. Brown is 6-5 overall and 1-3 in the Ivy League. After falling to Harvard, 16-10, in its conference opener, the Bears upset Princeton (11-10), before falling to Penn (8-10) and Yale (6-7 in OT) on consecutive weekends. The game can be watched or heard online through the Ivy League Digital Network and fans in the Ithaca area can hear the game on WHCU 870 AM with Barry Leonard and Tom LaFalce on the call. Live stats will also be available at CornellBigRed.com.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. BROWN: The Cornell and Brown rivalry began when the Bears joined the Ivy League in men's lacrosse in 1964. The Big Red came away with an 8-7 victory in that first meeting, and won 23 of the first 28 games between the two programs. The Bears won eight-straight contests vs. Cornell from 1991 to 1997 to gain some ground in the series, which Cornell leads, 35-18. Since snapping that Brown winning streak with a 6-5 decision in 1998, the series has been very tight, despite Cornell's 12-5 record over that time. Of the last 17 meetings, 10 have been decided by three or fewer goals, and the teams have split the last six meetings.

LOOKING AT THE BEARS: Brown enters the weekend with a 6-5 record overall (1-3 Ivy) with each of its last five contests being decided by two or fewer goals. Senior attackman Sam Hurster leads the team with 27 points and 21 goals, while sophomore midfielder Brendan Caputo and junior midfielder Tyler Landis have each posted a team-high 11 assists. In the face-off circle, senior Tommy Capone has taken the majority of draws, winning 82-of-153 (.536) and has a team-high 47 ground balls. The Bears strength lies in the defensive end, as freshman Larken Kemp leads the Ivy League and ranks 16th in the nation with 1.73 caused turnovers per game. Behind him, sophomore netminder Jack Kelly ranks first in the conference in both save percentage (.544) and saves per game (11.82), while posting a 10.54 goals-against average.  
 
A WIN OVER BROWN WOULD:
• end a three-game losing streak overall and a two-game skid on Schollekopf Field.
• keep the Big Red sitting in first place in the Ivy League standings.
• give Cornell back-to-back victories over the Bears and make the senior class 3-1 vs. Brown.
• improve interim head coach Matt Kerwick's career record to 119-104 and to 1-0 vs. the Bears.
• be the 724th win in program history.
 
THE HEAD COACH: Matt Kerwick (9-3) will serve as the Interim Head Coach of Cornell Lacrosse for the 2014 season ... Kerwick comes to Cornell with 15 years of head coaching experience (118-104) with stints at Jacksonville University, Hobart, Alfred and Randolph-Macon. 
 
WHAT A START!: Coach Kerwick's 9-0 record to start his Cornell career is the second best in Big Red men's lacrosse history, second only to Ned Harkness, who's 1966 and 1967 squads won 22-straight games before falling to Princeton, 7-5, on May 20, 1967. The loss to the Tigers was the lone defeat during Harkness' time with the lacrosse team, going 35-1 over three seasons.  
 
SEASON STREAKS:
• The Big Red has had at least one man-up goal in 11-of-12 games.
• Cornell has registered more ground balls than its opponents in 10-of-12 games.
• The Big Red has taken at least 40 shots in 8-of-12 games.
• The Big Red has had at least two man-up goals in 8-of-12 games.
• The Big Red has had more penalties than its opponents in 8-of-12 games.
• The Big Red has put at least 25 shots on goal in 7-of-12 games.
• Cornell has held its opponents to less than 10 goals in 7-of-12 games.
 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS
• Doug Tesoriero has picked up at least one ground ball in 32 straight contests dating back to April 28, 2012.
• Tom Freshour has caused at least one turnover in 10-of-12 games this season.
• Joe Paoletta has a current career-best three-game streak with at least three points.
• Dan Lintner has registered a hat trick in 8-of-12 games this season.
• Matt Donovan has registered at least three points in 8-of-12 games this season.
• Connor Buczek has registered at least three points in eight of Cornell's last 10 games.
 
100 GROUND BALLS: Doug Tesoriero needs just six ground balls to reach 100 for the season. That will make him just the second Big Red player to record 100 ground balls in a season twice in a career, joining Tarik Ergin (1982, 1983).
 
100 POINTS: With his four points at Penn on March 22, junior Matt Donovan became the 39th player in Cornell history to record 100 career points. Donovan currently ranks 34th overall with 106 (68 G, 38 A) career points.
 
BIG IN THE MIDFIELD: Connor Buczek needs six more points to become just the 14th midfielder in Cornell history to reach 100 career points.
 
SAVES A LOT: Christian Knights' 10.67 saves per game is the most by a Big Red goalie since Matt McMonagle averaged 11.25 saves per game during the 2007 season.
 
THE LAST UNDEFEATED: Cornell was the last undefeated team remaining in Division I men's lacrosse before falling to Harvard on April 5.
 
STARTING 9-0: The Big Red's nine-straight wins to open the season was the best start since the 2007 season when the squad went 15-0 before losing to Duke, 12-11, in the national semifinals.
 
FACE-OFF FRENZY:
• With his 12 face-off wins on April 8 vs. Syracuse, Doug Tesoriero became the 21st player in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse history to win 600 career face-offs.
• Tesoriero set the school record for face-off wins in a career vs. Michigan on March 1, passing Addison Sollog (1999-2002). He currently has 623 career face-off wins.
• With 623 career face-off wins, Tesoriero ranks fourth in NCAA Division I among active players.  
• Tesoriero entered the week ranked fourth in the Ivy League and 33rd in the nation in face-off winning percentage (.533).
• Last season, Tesoriero set the single season record with 241 face-off wins, breaking the old mark of 192, which was set by Clayton Weber 1995.
 
GROUND BALL GUY:
• With nine ground balls on March 22 at Penn, Doug Tesoriero became the school's career ground ball record holder, surpassing Paul Schimoler (299; 1986-89).
• With his 330 career ground balls, Tesoriero ranks fifth overall in NCAA Division I among active players.  
• Tesoriero entered the week ranked first in the Ivy League and 12th in the nation with 7.83 ground balls per game.
• With his 133 ground balls in 2013, Tesoriero broke the school record by edging out Craig Jaeger, who had won 127 ground balls in 1978.
 
STEPPING UP: With 10 goals in the first two games of the season, Dan Lintner matched his season total from a year ago. He has registered a hat trick in seven of 10 games so far this season and currently leads the Big Red with 38 goals.
 
BALANCED OFFENSE: So far this season, Cornell has received 117 points (85 goals, 32 assists) from its attack (47 percent) and 132 points (76 goals, 56 assists) from its midfield and defense. 
 
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE: Cornell has enjoyed a true home field advantage since beginning play on Schoellkopf Field in 1972, going 221-73 for a .752 winning percentage. Cornell has been even more impressive since 2000, going 87-22 overall (.798), with perfect slates in 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0) … So far this season, Cornell is 4-2 at home.
 
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: Cornell has traditionally been very successful against collegiate teams from New York state, posting an all-time record of 278-160-7 (.633) … The Big Red faced six teams from New York in 2014, posting a 4-2 record against teams from the Empire State.
 
TOP 10 NATION: The Big Red opened the week ranked in the top 10 nationally in six statistical categories, including ground balls per game (third – 35.33), scoring offense (fourth – 13.42), points per game (fifth – 20.75), scoring margin (sixth – 3.83), assists per game (ninth – 7.33), and shot percentage (ninth –.324).
 
RANKED OPPONENTS: The Big Red's 2014 season features seven opponents currently ranked in the USILA Coaches Poll – Syracuse, Virginia, Penn, Yale, Hofstra, Princeton, and Harvard … Cornell is 3-2 so far this season vs. opponents that were ranked during the time of the meeting (UVA, Yale, Penn, Syracuse, Hofstra).
 
IVY KINGS: Since Ivy League play began in 1956, Cornell has won a conference-high 27 titles, including 17 undefeated crowns. The Big Red also has the best Ivy League record of any team in the conference at 245-98-1 (.714).
 
FRESHMAN STOPPER: Christian Knight is the first freshman goalie to start a game for the Big Red since AJ Fiore started 17 contests in 2010. In his first start vs. No. 2 Virginia, Knight stopped 15 shots. Fiore made 15 saves twice during his rookie season, posting 20 in a loss to Syracuse and 15 in a triple overtime win against Loyola in the NCAA tournament.
 
TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH: The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced the 2014 Tewaaraton Award men's watch list and a pair of Cornell players – Connor Buczek and Matt Donovan – 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 2014 Tewaaraton Award.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Matt Donovan earned back-to-back Ivy League Player of the Week honors on March 3 and March 10. His first honor came after registering eight goals, including the overtime game-winner vs. Michigan, in a pair of games vs. Binghamton and the Wolverines. The next week, he posted two goals and one assist in just three quarters vs. Canisius before helping the Big Red upset No. 2 Virginia with two goals and three assists. Of his five points vs. the Cavaliers, four came as Cornell fought back from an early deficit to take a 6-5 halftime lead.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman goalie Christian Knight earned three consecutive Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors earlier this season (March 10, March 17, March 24). He was the first Big Red player to take home back-to-back Rookie of the Week honors since Matt Donovan did so on April 2 and April 9, 2012. Knight's three selections are the most since Donovan won the award an Ivy League record five times in 2012.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Cornell is 31-14 in games that have been decided by a single goal, a mark that was lowered when the Big Red fell to No. 16 Hofstra, 10-9 in overtime on April 12. Of the 14 losses, 12 have come against ranked opponents, including eight against squads ranked in the top-10, five of which were ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation.
 
OVERTIME NOTES: With its overtime loss at Hofstra on April 12, Cornell has played at least one overtime game in each of the past eight 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 7-5 record in overtime games.
 
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 (.747) of any Division I men's lacrosse program.
 
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: The Big Red will have four captains this season – seniors Tom Freshour and Dan Lintner, as well as juniors Connor Buczek and Matt Donovan.
 
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 723-447-27 all-time, and its 723 victories rank seventh among the winningest programs in collegiate lacrosse.
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Cornell had three players named to the 2014 Face-Off Magazine Preseason All-American list. Connor Buczek was a first-team selection, while both Matt Donovan and Doug Tesoriero earned honorable mention selections.
 
NEXT UP: The Big Red will play its final regular season game of the 2014 campaign when it travels to Long Island to take on No. 14 Princeton at Hempstead high school on Saturday, April 26 at 2 p.m.