GAME INFORMATION
GAME #10: No. 8 Cornell at Harvard
FACE OFF: Saturday, April 4, at 1:00 p.m.
SITE: Soldiers Field Lacrosse Stadium (Cambridge, Mass.)
2015 Records: Cornell (7-2, 3-0 Ivy League); Harvard (4-5, 0-2 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 64-24
LAST MEETING: Harvard won 14-9, April 5, 2014 in Ithaca, N.Y.
GAME NOTES: Cornell | Harvard


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THE MATCHUP: The No. 8 Big Red men's lacrosse team will travel to Harvard to take on the Crimson at Soldiers Field Lacrosse Stadium on Saturday, March 28 at 1 p.m. Cornell sits atop the Ivy League standings, along with Brown, while Harvard is desperate to earn its first conference win of the year. The Big Red used an impressive defensive effort to defeat Dartmouth last weekend and improve to 7-2 overall (3-0 Ivy), while Harvard lost a 21-18 shootout to Albany on March 24 to slip to 4-5 overall (0-2 Ivy). The game will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network, as well as ESPN3. Fans can hear Barry Leonard and Howie Borkan on WHCU 870 AM / 95.9 FM or via the Ivy League Digital Network.  Lives stats will also be available at www.GoCrimson.com.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. HARVARD: Although official Ivy League play began in 1956, the Cornell and Harvard rivalry dates back nearly as far as both teams' lacrosse programs, as the two squads first squared off in the 1895 season. The Big Red won that first meeting, 2-1, and has dominated the series ever since, holding a 64-24 overall record against the Crimson. Harvard snapped the Big Red's 16-game winning streak with a 14-9 decision last season on Scheollkopf Field.

LOOKING AT THE CRIMSON: After going 4-1 to start the season, Harvard has lost four consecutive games, including Ivy contests to Brown and Dartmouth, to slip to 4-5 overall and 0-2 in the Ivy League.  The Crimson offense entered the week ranking seventh in the nation in points per game (21.78) and scoring offense (13.89), while the defense is fourth overall in caused turnovers per game (8.89) and seventh overall in saves per game (13.33). Junior attackman Devin Dwyer ranks sixth in the Ivy League and 25^th in the nation with 4.00 points per game. He is also second in the Ivy League and seventh in the nation with 2.56 assists per game, while classmate Deke Burns is fifth in the conference and 16^th in the nation with 2.88 goals per game. In all, six Crimson have registered double-digit points, with junior Ian Ardrey (19-6—25) and freshman Joe Lang (17-6—23) joining Dwyer and Burns with more than 20 points. Sophomore Austin Williams has taken the majority of face-offs for Harvard, going 98-of-214 (.458) and picking up a team-high 5.0 ground balls per game. In goal, senior Jake Gambitsky stared the first three contests of the season, but has since given way to junior Bryan Moore, who has posted a 12.49 goals-against average and a .525 save percentage. 
 
LAST TIME VS. HARVARD: The No.2 Big Red saw its 16-game winning-streak vs. Harvard come to an end on April 5, 2014, as the Crimson defeated Cornell, 14-9, on Schoellkopf Field. The loss was the first of the season for the Big Red (9-1, 3-1 Ivy), which had been the last undefeated team remaining in NCAA Division I, while Harvard improved to 6-4 overall and remained a perfect 3-0 in the Ivy League with its first win over the Big Red since the 1998 season. Cornell led 4-1 midway through the first quarter, but saw the Crimson chip away before knotting the game at 6-6 prior to halftime. The visitors pulled away in the second half with long possessions that wore down the Big Red defense and kept the ball away from one the most proficient offenses in the nation. Midfielders John Hogan (three goals, two assists) and Joe Paoletta (two goals, one assist) led the offense, while attackman John Edmonds was the only other multi-point scorer with one goal and one assist. Dan Lintner, Connor Entenmann and Mike O'Neil each added one goal apiece.     Harvard was led by Will Walker (four goals, on assist) and Deke Burns (three goals, two assists), who registered five points apiece. Devin Dwyer finished with one goal and three assists, and Cal Zimmer chipped in two goals and one assist as eight Crimson players finished with at least one point. The visitors most important player of the day, however was Ithaca native Gabe Mendola, who won 20-of-26 face-offs and picked up 10 ground balls to tilt the time of possession heavily in Harvard's favor. For the first time all season, Cornell was outshot (38-21) and had less ground balls than its opponent (34-30). The Crimson posted one more turnover (16-15) and was held to a 1-of-6 performance on man-up chances, while the Big Red converted 2-of-3 opportunities. Goalie Christian Knight was outstanding with 14 saves, many of which were from point-blank range, while Harvard's Jake Gambitsky stopped eight, four of which came during the crucial first quarter to keep the visitors in the contest.
 
A WIN OVER HARVARD WOULD:
• extend Cornell's current winning streak to five games.
• improve the Big Red to 4-0 in Ivy League play for the 13th time since the 2000 season.
• even Cornell's road record at 2-2 on the season.
• be the Big Red's 65th victory over Harvard, improving to 65-24 all-time vs. the Crimson.
• be Cornell's 17th win in the last 18 meetings with Harvard.
• be the Big Red's seventh straight win in Cambridge.
• extend the Big Red's regular-season Ivy League winning-streak to six straight games.
• improve head coach Matt Kerwick's career record to 128-108 and to 1-1 vs. the Crimson.
• be the 733rd win in program history, improving Cornell to 733-458-27 all-time.
• be Cornell's 251st Ivy League win, improving to 251-98-1 all-time vs. Ivy League opponents.
• be the Big Red's 12^th consecutive win over a team with a sub .500 record.
• be Cornell's seventh straight win vs. an unranked team.
• make Cornell 18-12 all-time when ranked No. 8 in the USILA Coaches' Poll.

THE HEAD COACH: Matt Kerwick (18-7, .720) 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 (127-108) with stints at Jacksonville University, Hobart, Alfred and Randolph-Macon. 
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Connor Buczek was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on March 30. It was the first conference weekly award for the Big Red this season, as well as the first-ever weekly honor for Buczek. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, Buczek was instrumental in Cornell's 8-2 victory over Dartmouth on Saturday. With the Big Red clinging to a slim 3-1 lead at halftime Buczek took over the game. He scored a man-up goal early in the third quarter, then assisted on a goal two minutes later, before closing the quarter with a pair of tallies to put the Big Red up 8-1.
 
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 250-98-1.
 
SEASON STREAKS:
• Cornell has won the face-off battle in 8-of-9 games this season.
• The Big Red has won the ground ball battle in 8-of-9 games this season.
• Cornell has registered double-digit goals in seven of its last eight contests.
• The Big Red has taken at least 40 shots in seven of its last eight contests.
• Cornell has put at least 25 shots on goal in six of its last eight games.
• The Big Red has won two straight overtime contests.
 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS
• Domenic Massimilian has won the face-off battle in all 8-of-9 games this season
• Domenic Massimilian has picked up at least 10 ground balls in 7-of-9 games this season.
• Domenic Massimilian has won at least 15 face offs in six of the Big Red's last eight games.
• Dan Lintner has registered a hat trick in four of the Big Red's last five games.
• Matt Donovan has registered at least four points in seven of the Big Red's last eight games.
• Matt Donovan has registered a hat trick six of the Big Red's last eight games.
• Connor Buczek has registered at least one point in 12 consecutive games.
• John Hogan has registered at least one point in 10 consecutive games.
• Chris Cook has picked up at least two ground balls in all nine games this season.
• Jordan Stevens has picked up at least one ground ball in each of the Big Red's last 29 games.


250 IVY WINS: With its 8-2 victory over Dartmouth on March 28, 2015, Cornell became the first program in the Ivy League history to reach 250 conference victories … The 250 conference wins are also the most conference wins by any school in Division I men's lacrosse history.
1.Cornell                250           Ivy
2.Princeton          235           Ivy         
3.Brown                 175           Ivy
4.Yale                      151           Ivy
5.Harvard              146           Ivy
6.Penn                   140           Ivy
7.Delaware           136           ECC/NAC/American East/CAA
8.Maryland           118           ACC/B1G
9.Towson              118           ECC/American East/CAA
10.Army                   110           Patriot
 
FEWEST GOALS: Christian Knight allowed just one goal in 51:27 of action in an 8-2 victory over Dartmouth on March 28. The single goal allowed was the fewest by Knight, and the fewest by a Cornell goalie playing more than 45 minutes in a game since Matt McMonagle held Army to a single goal during the 2006 season … The two goals surrendered by the Big Red was the fewest since that same 13-1 victory over the Black Knights.

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


MOVING ON UP:
•Jordan Stevens currently ranks  third in Cornell history for career caused turnovers (56) and needs 13 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 ranks 17th in Cornell history for career points (134) and needs just four more to surpass Tom Marino (1976-78) in 16th place.
•Connor Buczek is tied with John Wurzburger, Joe Boulukos, and Bill O'Hanlon for 16th place in Cornell history for career goals (89) and needs just two more to tie Max Seibald (2006-09) and move into 15th place.
•Connor Buczek is tied with John Heil, Tom Marino and Steve Meyer in 24th place in Cornell history for career assists (45) and needs just one more to tie David Key, Billy Fort, Pat Gallagher, and Vince Angotti in 20th 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 (228) and needs just 16 more to surpass Rich Yost (1997-98) and move into 14th place.
•Domenic Massimilian currently ranks 17th in Cornell history for career ground balls (144) and needs just three more to pass Jon Goldman and move into 16th place overall.
 
NCAA CAREER LEADERBOARD:
•Matt Donovan ranks 13th among current Division I players for career goals with 107. He is 13th overall in career points (165) and 26th in career assists (58).
•Connor Buczek ranks 21st among current Division I players for career goals with 89. He is 26th overall in career points (134) and 43rd in career assists (45).
•Dan Lintner ranks 39th 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 ranked second all-time among midfielders with 134 career points and needs just eight 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 ranks seventh in the nation with a .656 face-off winning percentage. He is also second in the country with 9.78 ground balls per game … Massimilian has won the face-off battle in 8-of-9 Big Red games this season and has led the team in ground balls in 8-of-9 games.

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 (sixth – .649) and ground balls per game (sixth – 35.44).

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 74-of-163 points coming from the attack unit (45 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 35th 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).
 
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 732-448-27 all-time, and its 732 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 returns to Ithaca for a pair of home games next week as it welcomes Canisius and Hofstra to Schoellkopf Field. Cornell will face the Golden Griffins on Tuesday, April 7 at 7 p.m., before taking on Hofstra on Saturday, April 11 at noon.