GAME INFORMATION
GAME #8: No. 7 Cornell vs. Dartmouth
FACE OFF: Saturday, March 28, at 1:00 p.m.
SITE: Schoellkopf Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2015 Records: Cornell (6-2, 2-0 Ivy League); Dartmouth (3-3, 1-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 49-15
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 19-4, March 29, 2014 in Hanover, N.H.
GAME NOTES: Cornell | Dartmouth

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THE MATCHUP: The No. 7 Big Red men's lacrosse team will look for its fourth straight victory when it welcomes Dartmouth to Schoellkopf Field this on Saturday, March 28 at 1 p.m. Cornell and the Big Green both sit atop the Ivy League standings, along with Princeton and Brown, who  will face off tomorrow in a game that will be broadcast on ESPNU at 11 a.m. The Big Red picked up a pair of 10-9 overtime victories last week against Colgate and Penn to improve to 6-2 overall (2-0 Ivy), while Dartmouth has won three consecutive one-goal games, including a thrilling double overtime upset of  Harvard, to even its record at 3-3 overall (1-0 Ivy). The game will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.  Local fans can hear Barry Leonard and Tom LaFalce on WHCU 870 AM / 95.9 FM, and lives stats will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/mlax/.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. DARTMOUTH: The Cornell and Dartmouth rivalry began in 1946 with an 8-7 victory for the Big Red. The Big Green won the next six meetings over a 10-year span, but has won only nine times since 1957. The Big Red dominates the all-time series record, 49-15, and has won 16 of the last 17 meetings, including the last four contests by a combined score of 66-22.

LOOKING AT THE BIG GREEN: After going 0-3 to start the season, Dartmouth has won three consecutive one-goal games, including its first victory over Harvard since the 2011 season, coming in double overtime to even its record at 3-3 and 1-0 in the Ivy League. Freshman midfielder Jack Korzelius leads the team with 13 goals, while Adam Fishman has chipped in 10 goals. Sophomore attackman Wiley Osborne has a team-high nine assists to go along with seven goals for a team-high 16 points. Senior midfielder Phil Hession has been solid in the face-off circle, taking the majority of restarts and winning 60-of-100 attempts (.600), to go along with a team-high 7.7 ground balls per game. In goal, junior Blair Friedensohn has stared all six contests and has posted a 14.01 goals-against average and a .446 save percentage.  
 
LAST TIME VS. DARTMOUTH: The No. 2 Big Red scored the first four goals of the contest and then opened up a 10-2 lead at the half before rolling to the 19-4 victory over Dartmouth on March 29, 2014 on Scully-Fahey Field in Hanover, N.H. Connor Buczek registered career-highs in points (seven) and goals (five) in just under three quarters of action, while John Hogan matched a career-best with four assists. Dan Lintner and Matt Donovan chipped in three and two goals, respectively, while John Edmonds finished with one goal and one assist. Altogether, 16 Cornell players registered at least one point, as Coach Kerwick went to his bench with four minutes remaining in the third quarter and wholesale substitutions saw two goals and an assist from Jack Molloy, one goal and one assist apiece from Sean Doyle and Emmy Poccia, and a tally from Andrew Keith. In goal, Christian Knight made seven saves and allowed four goals in just 45 minutes of action, while three goalies split the final 15 minutes with Brennan Donville and Dan Nemirov registering one save apiece, while Will Joyce did not face a shot. Adam Fishman accounted for nearly all of the Big Green's offense with two goals and one assist to register three of Dartmouth's seven total points. Adam Philie and Jack McCormack added one goal each while Phil Hession and KC Beard each tallied one assist. Cornell was extremely efficient on offense, registering an assist on 14-of-19 goals. The visitors also held the advantage in shots (50-36), shots on goal (31-13) and face-offs (14-of-26). The Big Red was a perfect 20-of-20 on clears, while holding Dartmouth to a 16-of-22 performance. In all, the Big Green had 23 turnovers, eight of which were caused by Cornell, while the Big Red turned the ball over just 15 times. In a game that was riddled with 18 combined penalties, Cornell went 3-of-9 on extra-man chances, while holding the Big Green to a 1-of-6 performance.
 
A WIN OVER DARTMOUTH WOULD:
• be the Big Red's 50th victory over Dartmouth, improving to 50-15-all-time vs. the Big Green.
• be Cornell's 17th win in the last 18 meetings with Dartmouth.
• improve head coach Matt Kerwick's career record to 127-108 and to 2-0 vs. the Big Green.
• be the 732nd win in program history, improving Cornell to 732-458-27 all-time.
• be Cornell's 250th Ivy League win, improving to 250-98-1 all-time vs. Ivy League.
• make Cornell 19-7 all-time when ranked No. 7 in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
• be the Big Red's 10th straight victory when ranked seventh in the USILA Coaches' Poll.

THE HEAD COACH: Matt Kerwick (17-7, .708) was named the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse at Cornell University on June 11, 2014. Kerwick, who served in the position on an interim basis during the 2014 season, became the 11th head coach in the programs' 122-year history ... Kerwick has 16 years of head coaching experience (126-108) with stints at Jacksonville University, Hobart, Alfred and Randolph-Macon. 
 
IVY KINGS:
• Since Ivy League play began in 1956, Cornell has won a conference-high 28 titles, including 17 undefeated crowns.
• Cornell has won a share of 11 of the last 12 Ivy League titles.
• The Big Red also has the best Ivy League record of any team in the conference at 249-98-1.
 
SEASON STREAKS:
• Cornell has won the face-off battle in all eight games this season.
• The Big Red has won the ground ball battle in all eight games this season.
• Cornell has registered double-digit goals in its last seven contests.
• The Big Red has taken at least 40 shots in each of its last seven games.
• Cornell has put at least 25 shots on goal in six of its last seven games.
• The Big Red has won two straight overtime contests.
 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS
• Domenic Massimilian has won the face-off battle in all eight games this season
• Domenic Massimilian has picked up at least 10 ground balls in each of the Big Red's last seven games.
• Domenic Massimilian has won at least 15 face offs in six of the Big Red's last seven games.
• Dan Lintner has registered a hat trick in each of the Big Red's last four games.
• Matt Donovan has registered at least four points in each of the Big Red's last seven games.
• Matt Donovan has registered a hat trick six of the Big Red's last seven games.
• Connor Buczek has registered at least one point in 11 consecutive games.
• John Hogan has registered at least one point in nine consecutive games.
• Chris Cook has picked up at least three ground balls in each of the Big Red's last seven games.
• Jordan Stevens has picked up at least one ground ball in each of the Big Red's last 28 games.


HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE: Cornell has enjoyed a true home field advantage since beginning play on Schoellkopf Field in 1972, going 224-73 for a .754 winning percentage. Cornell has been even more impressive since 2000, going 90-22 overall (.804) with perfect slates in 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0).
 
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND:  Cornell has traditionally been very successful against collegiate teams from New York state, posting an all-time record of 282-161-7 (.634) … The Big Red will face seven teams from New York in 2015.
 
OPEN LATE: Cornell played its first home game of the season vs. Colgate on March 17. That was the latest home opener since the 1994 squad played its first game on Schoellkopf Field on March 26 vs. Yale. In 1994, the season began on March 6 and the Big Red played just two games before its home opener. ... Only two other teams in Division I have a season-opener as late, or later than the Big Red:
1)Marquette – April 4
2)Cornell – March 17
Canisius – March 17
 
ON THE ROAD: With freezing temperatures forcing the Big Red to relocate its Feb. 24 contest vs. Binghamton to a neutral site, Cornell played its first six games away from Schoellkopf Field. That was the longest stretch of consecutive games away from Ithaca since the 1953 team opened the season with a stretch of six games played at Baltimore, Duke, UNC, RPI, Syracuse and Hobart ... Only three other teams in Division I have had roads swings of six or more games to open the season:
1)Marquette – 10 games
2)Cornell – 6 games
Canisius – 6 games
Manhattan – 6 games

CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Cornell is 33-17 in games that have been decided by a single goal, a mark that was raised when the Big Red defeated Penn, 10-9, in overtime on March 21, 2015. Of the 16 losses, 15 have come against ranked opponents, including 11 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 10-9 overtime win vs. Penn on March 21, 2015 Cornell has played at least one overtime game in each of the past nine 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 9-5 record in OT games … Head Coach Matt Kerwick is 3-1 all-time at Cornell in overtime games.

RANKED OPPONENTS:  The Big Red's 2015 season currently features six opponents ranked in the USILA Coaches' Poll – Syracuse (first), Virginia (eighth), Princeton (ninth), Albany (10th), Yale (11th), and Brown (12th) … Cornell is 2-2 so far this season vs. ranked opponents.

MOVING ON UP:
•Jordan Stevens is currently tied with Tom Freshour in third place in Cornell history for career caused turnovers (55) and needs 14 more to surpass Thomas Keith in second place.
•Matt Donovan ranks eighth in Cornell history for career goals (107) and needs 17 more to surpass Jon Levine in eighth place.
•Matt Donovan is tied with Steve Mock in eighth place in Cornell history for career points (165) and needs just three more to tie Tim Goldstein (1987-88) in seventh place.
•Matt Donovan ranks 10th in Cornell history for career assists (58) and needs just three more to tie John Glynn (2005-09) in ninth place.
•Connor Buczek is tied with Bill Marina (1974-76) in 19th place in Cornell history for career points (129) and needs just one more to tie Steve Meyer (1986-89) in 18th place.
•Connor Buczek is tied with Tom Quaranto, Pat Dutton, and Bob Shaw for20th place in Cornell history for career goals (86) and needs just two more to pass Dick Shriver (1953-55) and move into 19th place.
•Connor Buczek is tied with Tom Peddy (1964-66) in 28th place r in Cornell history for career assists (43) and needs just one more to tie Jim Trenz in 27th place.
•Dan Lintner ranks 30th in Cornell history for career goals (74) and needs just one more to tie Charlie Wood (1977-80) in 29th place.
•Christian Knight ranks 15th in Cornell history for career saves (218) and needs just 26 more to surpass Rich Yost (1997-98) and move into 14th place.
•Domenic Massimilian currently ranks 17th in Cornell history for career ground balls (140) and needs just seven more to pass Jon Goldman and move into 16th place overall.
 
NCAA CAREER LEADERBOARD:
•Matt Donovan ranks 10th among current Division I players for career goals with 107. He is 12th overall in career points (165) and 26th in career assists (58).
•Connor Buczek ranks 22nd among current Division I players for career goals with 86. He is 28th overall in career points (129) and 43rd in career assists (43).
•Dan Lintner ranks 37th among current Division I players for career goals with 74.
 
BIG IN THE MIDFIELD: With two points vs. Penn on May 2, 2014 Connor Buczek became just the 14th midfielder in Cornell history to reach 100 career points … He is currently tied with Bill Marino (1974-76) for second place all-time among midfielders with 129 career points and needs just 13 more to surpass Max Seibald (2006-09) and move into first place.
 
FACE-OFF FRENZY: In his first season as a starter, sophomore Domenic Massimilian has been outstanding for the Big Red. He opened the week ranked seventh in the nation with a .673 face-off winning percentage. He was also first in the country with 10.50 ground balls per game … Massimilian has won the face-off battle in all eight Big Red games this season and has led the team in ground balls in each game.

TOP 10 NATION: As of March 23, the Big Red ranked in the top 10 nationally in just two statistical categories – face-off winning percentage (fifth – .664) and ground balls per game (fourth – 36.38).

BALANCED OFFENSE: After a slow start by the attack unit that saw a disproportionate amount of its offense come from the midfield, the Big Red has seen its scoring come back into balance with 70-of-149 points coming from the attack unit (47 percent). During the 2014 season, Cornell received 156 points (114 goals, 42 assists) from its attack (49.1 percent) and 162 points (90 goals, 72 assists) from its midfield and defense. 
 
SAVES A LOT: So far this season, Christian Knight has averaged 9.4 saves per game, ranking 36th in the nation. A year ago, his 11.00 saves per game ranked 25th in Cornell history and was the most by a Big Red goalie since Matt McMonagle averaged 11.25 saves per game during the 2007 season.
 
ELITE COMPANY:  Over the past 10 seasons (2005-2014) only eight schools have registered 100 victories – Duke (151), UVA (127), Cornell (121), Syracuse (118), Notre Dame (114), Denver (113), Maryland (112), Hopkins (111) … During that span, only six have won at least 70 percent of its games – Duke (.803), Cornell (.766), Virginia (.760), Notre Dame (.735), Syracuse (.728) and Hopkins (.715).
 
TEAM OF THE WEEK: The Big Red was named the NCAA Team of the Week on March 2 after improving to 3-1 on the year with wins over Binghamton and No. 8 Albany. Cornell opened the week with a 17-9 victory over the Bearcats, before downing the Great Danes, 16-9.
 
BUCZEK'S GOT SENIOR CLASS: Cornell senior Connor Buczek has been named one of 20 candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate men's lacrosse, as one of the top NCAA student-athletes who excels both on and off the field. 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.
 
IVY OPENERS: The Big Red earned a convincing 14-7 victory over Yale on March 14 in its 60th Ivy League opener. Since the conference began play in the 1956 season, the Big Red has posted a 45-15 record in Ivy League openers (.750), including winning its last 16, 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.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS:  Cornell had three players named to the 2015 Face-Off Magazine Preseason All-American list. Connor Buczek was a first-team selection, while Jordan Stevens and Matt Donovan were named to the second- and third-team, respectively.
 
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN:  The Big Red will have four captains this season – seniors Connor Buczek, Matt Donovan, Dan Lintner, and Jordan Stevens.

HARD HAT: Brennan Donville has been selected to carry the Hard Hat for the 2015 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.
 
WIN NO. 725: Cornell's 12-10 victory over Princeton on April 26, 2014 was the 725th win in program history. The Big Red is now 731-448-27 all-time, and its 731 victories rank seventh among the winningest programs in collegiate lacrosse.
 
FAMILY TIES:
• Head Coach Matt Kerwick's parents Thomas and the late Patricia Kerwick, as well as his sister Ann, all graduated from Cornell.
• Russell Scott has a total of 14 family members that attended Cornell, while his grandfather, Thomas W. Scott, is a retired Cornell professor of Agronomy … His father, Tom (football), his uncles John Dentes (football), George Dentes (football/sprint football/baseball), Terry Scott (sprint football), and Sam Happel (lacrosse) and his cousins Scott Dentes (sprint football) and Zak Dentes (sprint football) all played sports at Cornell … Happel played on the Big Red's national semifinal team in 1982.
• Chris Cook's father, Kevin '84, and uncle, Ed Cook '86, were All-American lacrosse players for Cornell.
• Andrew Keith's brother, Thomas '13, was an All-American long-stick midfielder for the Big Red, earning four varsity letters from 2010-13.
• Ryan Matthew's cousin Matt Sutherland played lacrosse at Cornell.
• Tim LaBeau's father Tim '77 played football for the Big Red from 1973-77, while his mother, Nancy '78, and two sisters, Kristi '09 and Kate '10, all graduated from Cornell.
• Matt Schattner's uncle, Mark Major, played hockey at Cornell from 1984-87, while his aunt, Martha Manilla Major, played soccer for the Big Red from 1986-87.
• Dan Nemirov's mother, Jamie, as well as one aunt and his maternal grandfather all graduated from Cornell. 
• Scott Flynn's grandfather Norman Penney attended Cornell Law School and later served as both a professor in the law school and Dean of University Faculty. 
•Charlie Estill's grandfather Frederick Siefke graduated from Cornell in 1948.
•Troy Revello's older sister Grace attends Cornell.
 
NEXT UP:  The Big Red will open April on the road as it travels to Harvard for an important Ivy League contest on Saturday, April 4 at 1 p.m.