PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The No. 13 Brown men's lacrosse team outscored Cornell, 9-1, after halftime to blow open what had been a tightly contested game and knock the Big Red out of first place in the Ivy League standings. The Bears earned the 15-6 victory at Stevenson Field on the strength of junior goalkeeper Jack Kelly's 21-save performance that allowed Brown to run its fast-paced offense and score in transition.   
 
The loss by Cornell will set up an exciting final weekend for the Ivy League. The Big Red had already secured a spot in the Ivy League Tournament but will need to defeat Princeton next weekend, and have Dartmouth beat the Bears, in order to host. If the Tigers defeat the Big Red, they will earn the top seed. Brown would earn it if they defeat Dartmouth and Cornell beats the Tigers. Yale has also secured a spot in the tournament, but cannot host. If Dartmouth beats Brown, Penn gets in over the Bears.
 
Cornell (9-4, 3-2 Ivy) had its lowest scoring output since its first game of the season, and its lowest goal production in Ivy League play since losing to Dartmouth, 8-6, during the 2010 season. The nine-goal defeat is also the worst lost since falling to No. 11 Georgetown, 14-4, during the 2004 season.
 
For as lopsided as the game ended, early indications were that it would be a game that came down to the wire.  The Big Red opened the scoring just over one-minute in as Matt Donovan swept around the crease and beat Kelly low to give the visitors an early lead. The next few minutes saw excellent Big Red defense forcing turnovers at will, followed by outstanding saves from Kelly to keep it a one goal game before Henry Blynn scored the first of his game-high four goals in a scramble situation in front of the net.  The Bears, as they have done all season, used a quick-strike offense to make it 4-1 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a pair of man-up goals and a tally in transition off a face-off win.
 
The Big Red battled back by scoring three of the next four goals with Donovan making it a 5-4 contest midway through the second quarter before Blynn found the back of the net with 2.4 seconds remaining in the half. The Cornell players and coaches argued vehemently that Blynn had stepped into the crease, but after the officials huddled the goal stood and the home team went into the intermission with the 6-4 lead.
 
Connor Buczek scored early in the third quarter to make it a one-goal game once again, but that was as good as it would get as the Bears rattled off nine of the final 10 goals in the contest to take the victory. The lone score during the Brown run came from Buczek, who finished with a team high three goals.
 
Donovan finished with two goals, while Chris Cook scored once. Both John Hogan and Bradlee Lord registered an assist.
 
Outside of the final score and Kelly's incredible save total, all other statistical categories were remarkably close. Cornell held the edge in shots (45-41), and caused two more turnovers (11-9), while posting two fewer turnovers (18-16). Brown won two extra face-offs (13-of-24) and had more ground balls (40-33). Both teams finished with four failed clears and both took advantage of their man-up chances with Brown going 3-for-3 and Cornell going 1-for-2.
 
Defensively, Marshall Peters and Jordan Stevens registered three caused turnovers apiece with Peters picking up a team-high six groundballs. In addition to his goal, Cook also picked up five ground balls and caused two turnovers.
 
In net, Christian Knight posted 10 saves in the loss.
 
The Big Red will honor its 14-member senior class and take on No. 19 Princeton in a crucial Ivy League contest next weekend as it plays host to the Tigers on Scheollkopf Field in a game that will be broadcast to a nationwide audience on Fox College Sports on Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m. The game will not be shown on the Ivy League Digital Network.