GAME INFORMATION
GAME #15: No. 10 Cornell vs. No. 15 Princeton
FACE OFF: Friday, May 1 at 5:00 p.m.
SITE: Stevenson Field (Providence, R.I.)
2015 Records: Cornell (10-4, 4-2 Ivy League); Princeton (8-5, 4-2 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 39-37-2
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 15-10, April 25, 2015 in Ithaca, N.Y.
GAME NOTES: Cornell | Princeton 

FOLLOW THE BIG RED
GAME LINKS: Tickets | Video | Audio | Live Stats 
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM / 95.9 FM (Ithaca)
TELEVISION: ESPN 3
Facebook I Twitter I YouTube
Sign up to receive text messages I Sign up for weekly newsletters
 
THE MATCHUP: The No. 10 Big Red men's lacrosse team enters the weekend seeking its first Ivy League Men's Lacrosse Tournament title since 2010, but first Cornell needs to advance past the semifinal round, something it hasn't done since the 2011 season. Standing in the way is No. 15 Princeton, a team Cornell defeated 15-10 a week ago on Schoellkopf Field. Both teams shared the Ivy League regular season title, along with Brown. For the Big Red, it was the league-best 29th championship in program history. The Tigers have won a share of the title 27 times, with the Bears ranking third in the conference with nine titles to its credit. Joining the three first-place teams in the tournament is Yale. Cornell and the Bulldogs are the only two teams in the conference that have participated in all six Ivy League Men's Lacrosse Tournaments. The game will be broadcast nationally on www.ESPN3.com. 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.BrownBears.com.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. PRINCETON:  The Cornell and Princeton rivalry began in 1922 with an 11-1 victory for the Tigers. Princeton would dominate the next 24 meetings, winning or tying all but one contest, to help it to a 39-37-2 record in the all-time series. Cornell would win 22-straight games vs. the Tigers from 1968 to 1989, but Princeton is still the only Ivy League team to boast a winning record against the Big Red, as they again dominated the series throughout the 1990s. Cornell has won 11 of the last 15 after consecutive wins in 2014 and 2015.

LOOKING AT THE TIGERS: No. 15 Princeton earned a share of its 27^th Ivy League title but fell to the third seed in the 2015 Men's Ivy League Tournament after losing to Cornell, 15-10, a week ago on Schoellkopf Field to slip to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference. The team is led by Mike MacDonald's 71 points (43 goals, 28 assists), as he became the first player in Tigers' men's lacrosse history to record 40 goals and 20 assists in the same season. Kip Orban (40 goals) and Ryan Ambler (21 goals, 24 assists) are also having tremendous campaigns as all three have registered more than 40 points on the  year. In the face-off circle, Sam Bonafede has taken the majority of draws for the Tigers, winning .470 percent (109-of-232). In goal, Tyler Blaisdell has played in just six games this season, but has started the last four. He has posted an 11.07 goals-against average and a .495 save percentage. Blaisdell took over starting duties from Eric Sanschagrin, who had started 9-of-10 games (11.19 GAA; .500 sv%).
 
LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON: It's not how you start. It's how you finish that matters. After 15 minutes of play between No. 12 Cornell and No. 14 Princeton, the Big Red trailed 5-0. The home team had been doubled-up on ground balls (8-4) and had been outshot by 10 (14-4). By the time John Edmonds scored the team's first goal at the 13:49 mark of the second quarter, the Big Red had been held scoreless for more than 38 minutes of game time extending back to the third quarter of its game at Brown last weekend. But the Edmonds goal changed all that and Cornell went on to finish with a 15-10 victory to improve to 10-4 overall (4-2 Ivy) and earn a share of its 29th Ivy League title. The second quarter spark began with the unassisted goal by Edmonds and was benefited by the face-off play of Matt Schattner and Domenic Massimilian, who combined to win seven consecutive restarts, allowing Cornell to essentially play a game of make-it, take-it and outscore the Tigers, 9-0 in the quarter. Connor Buczek led the Big Red with four goals, to become the first-ever Cornell midfielder to go over 100 goals for his career, and added an assist to tie John Edmonds for the team high with five points. Edmonds registered a hat trick and added two assists. Dan Lintner also had a hat trick, while Matt Donovan added two goals and one assist. Hogan (two goals) and Bradlee Lord (one goal), rounded out the scoring. For the game, the Big Red went 20-of-29 in the face-off circle, but nearly every attempt was a battle, with the outstanding wing play of Marshall Peters (career-high nine ground balls) and Chris Cook (six ground balls), contributing greatly to the cause. Massimilian won 14-of-22, while Schattner took 6-of-7 off the Tigers. Princeton (8-5, 4-2 Ivy) was led by MacDonald's five points (three goals, two assists) and Kip Orban with four goals. The Tigers had one more shot (40-39) and one fewer turnover (12-11) than Cornell. The visitors were also solid clearing the ball (11-13), while the Big Red struggled (12-18). Both teams registered one man-up goal, with Princeton going 1-of-2 and Cornell going 1-for-1. In goal, the Big Red's Christian Knight stopped eight shots, including five after halftime, to earn the win, while Tyler Blaisdell saved nine in the loss.
 
A WIN OVER PRINCETON WOULD:
• give Cornell three consecutive wins over the Tigers for the first time since winning three in a row from 2009-10.
• propel the Big Red into the 2015 Ivy League Men's Lacrosse Tournament championship game for the first time since 2011, and third time overall.  
• give Cornell at least 11 wins in three consecutive seasons and in nine of the last 10 seasons overall.
• Improve the Big Red to 4-3 vs. nationally-ranked opponents.
• cut Princeton's lead down to one games (39-38-2) in the series, while improving Head Coach Matt Kerwick's record to 3-0 vs. the Tigers.
• make the senior class 4-2 vs. Princeton.
• give Cornell 12 wins in the last 13 meetings with the Tigers dating back to a 12-11 overtime victory in 2004.
• improve Coach Kerwick's career record to 131-110 overall and 22-9 at Cornell.
• be the 736th win in program history, improving Cornell to 736-460-27 all-time.
• make Cornell 18-9 all-time when ranked No. 10 in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
• give Cornell a 12-10 record all-time vs. the No. 15 ranked team in the USILA Coaches' Poll.

THE HEAD COACH: Matt Kerwick (21-9, .700) 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 (130-110) 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 29 titles, including 17 undefeated crowns.
• With its share in 2015, Cornell has won a share of 12 of the last 13 Ivy League titles.
• The Big Red also has the best regular season Ivy League record of any team in the conference at 251-100-1.
• Princeton clinched a share of the 2015 Ivy League crown for the 27th conference title in Tiger history.
 
THE RACE TO FOUR GOALS: There are only five midfielders in Ivy League history to record both 40 goals in a single season and 100 goals in a career, but both Cornell's Connor Buczek and Princeton's Kip Orban are four goals away from joining that elite group. Buczek has 102 career goals and 36 so far this season, while Orban has 40 goals this season and 96 in his career. 
 
CLASS OF 2015: The 14-member Class of 2015 has seen great success during its time on East Hill. As a group, they have won three Ivy League championships (2013, 14, 15) and will graduate having participated in four consecutive Ivy League Tournaments. To date the class holds a record of 44-17 overall (.721) with a mark of 19-5 in Ivy League play (.792). They have also appeared in two NCAA Tournaments, helping Cornell to reach the 2013 national semifinal game.
 
BACK TO SCHOOL: Connor Buczek has been accepted into the prestigious Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell. One of the best business school's in the country, Buczek is in rare company, as one of just two individuals, and the only one from Cornell, to be admitted directly from undergraduate studies.
 
FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET: On Dec. 21, 2014, sophomore Marshall Peters tied the Cornell Department of Athletics record for fastest 40-yard dash, running it in a time of 4.38 seconds and matching the mark set by Max Seibald in 2008. Administered by Tom Howley, Associate Director of Athletics for Athlete Performance, the dash is laser timed and the record is across several sports in the department.
 
BUCZEK'S GOT SENIOR CLASS: Cornell senior Connor Buczek has been named one of 10 finalists 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. Fans can vote for Buczek at: http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/lacrosse_2015/
 
GROUND BALL GUY: Domenic Massimilian currently sits in second place in Cornell history for ground balls in a single season (131). Massimilian is averaging 9.4 ground balls per game and is on pace to break the school record of 133, set by Doug Tesoriero during the 2013 season.
    1.    133    Doug Tesoriero (2013)
    2.    131    Domenic Massimilian (2015)
    3.    127    Craig Jaeger (1978)
    4.    126    Doug Tesoriero (2014)
 
50/50: With his four points vs. Hofstra on April 11, Matt Donovan became just the 10th player in Cornell history to post at least 50 points in consecutive seasons.
 
50-50 POINT SCORERS:
• Connor Buczek needs to register just one point to join Matt Donovan as the 15^th pair in Cornell history to register 50 points in a season.
• It will mark just the third time in Cornell history that the team has had a pair of 50-point scorers in three consecutive seasons, as Matt Donovan and Dan Lintner finished the 2014 season with 58 and 52 points, respectively, while Rob Pannell, Steve Mock and Connor Buczek all registered more than 50 points in 2013.
 
BIG IN THE MIDFIELD: With two goals vs. Hofstra on April 11, Connor Buczek broke Max Seibald's school record for career point by a midfielder … Wit 150 career points, Buczek is one of just 14 midfielders in Cornell history to reach 100 career points … He also ranks seventh in Ivy League history among midfielders with 102 career goals  … Buczek needs just four goals to become just the eighth midfielder in Ivy League history to score 40 goals in a single season.
 
TEWAARATON TROPHY NOMINEES:
• Connor Buczek and Matt Donovan have been named among the 25 nominees for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award.
• The Big Red is one of just six schools, and the only Ivy League program, to have multiple nominees, joining Denver, Duke, UNC, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.
• Cornell has had at least one player make the official list of nominees in 11 consecutive seasons, beginning with midfielder Joe Boulukos '06 in 2005.
• With both Buczek and Donovan on the list, the Big Red has a pair of nominees for the first time since the 2008 campaign when midfielders John Glynn '08 and Max Seibald '09 made the cut.
• Buczek was a nominee last season, becoming the fourth multi-year Cornell nominee since 2005, joining Boulukos, Seibald, and Rob Pannell '13.
• The Big Red men's lacrosse program has produced two Tewaaraton Trophy winners – Seibald in 2008 and Pannell in 2013. 
 
SEASON STREAKS:
• Cornell has won the face-off battle in 12-of-14 games this season.
• The Big Red has won the ground ball battle in 12-of-14 games this season.
• Cornell has registered double-digit goals in 10 of its last 13 contests.
• The Big Red has taken at least 40 shots in 11 of its last 13 contests.
• The Big Red defense has held opponents to fewer than 15 shots on goal in five of its last nine games.
• The Cornell defense has held its opponents to fewer than 10 goals in eight of its 10 wins.
• The Big Red has won two straight overtime contests.
 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS
• Domenic Massimilian has won the face-off battle in 12-of-14 games this season
• Domenic Massimilian has picked up at least 10 ground balls in 9-of-14 games this season.
• Domenic Massimilian has won at least 15 face offs in seven of the Big Red's last 13 games.
• Dan Lintner has registered a hat trick in seven of the Big Red's last 10 games.
• Matt Donovan has registered at least four points in nine of the Big Red's last 13 games.
• Matt Donovan has registered a hat trick seven of the Big Red's 14 games.
• Connor Buczek has registered at least one point in 18 consecutive games.
• Connor Buczek has registered at least two points in each of Cornell's 14 games this season.
• John Hogan has registered at least one point in 15 consecutive games.
• Chris Cook has picked up at least two ground balls in 13-of-14 games this season.
• Jordan Stevens has picked up at least one ground ball in each of the Big Red's last 34 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 Big Red's 251 regular season conference wins are also the most conference wins by any school in Division I men's lacrosse history.
               
100 POINTS: Dan Lintner needs just six points to become the 41^st player in Cornell history to record 100 career points. Last season, Matt Donovan and Connor Buczek joined the club. The last time the Big Red had three players reach the 100 point plateau while playing together came in 1976 with Mike French, Eamon McEneaney, John Levine and Bill Marino. 
 
RANKED OPPONENTS:  The Big Red's 2015 season currently features seven opponents ranked in the USILA Coaches' Poll – Syracuse (first), Albany (seventh), Virginia (eighth), Brown (ninth), Yale (11th), Colgate (12th), and Princeton (15th) … Cornell is 3-3 so far this season vs. ranked opponents. The Big Red also defeated Colgate but the Raiders were not ranked at the time of the contest.
 
MOVING ON UP:
•Jordan Stevens currently ranks third in Cornell history for career caused turnovers (62) and needs seven more to surpass Thomas Keith in second place.
•Matt Donovan ranks eighth in Cornell history for career goals (117) and needs seven more to surpass Jon Levine in seventh place.
•Matt Donovan sits in fourth place in Cornell history for career points (181), 75 points behind Eamon McEneaney in third place.
•Matt Donovan sits in eighth place in Cornell history for career assists (64) and needs 19 more to pass Al Rimmer in seventh place.
•Connor Buczek ranks 14th in Cornell history for career points (150) and needs two more to pass Mark Webster in 13th place.
•Connor Buczek is in ninth place in Cornell history for career goals (102), sitting behind Matt Donovan (117) in eighth place.
•Connor Buczek is tied with Bruce Cohen in 18th place in Cornell history for career assists (48) and needs just two more to tie Wade Bollinger and Max Seibald in 16th place.
•Dan Lintner ranks 20^th in Cornell history for career goals (88) and needs just two more to jump into 17^th place.
•John Hogan ranks 25^th in Cornell history with 45 career assists and needs just two more to move into the top 20.
•Christian Knight ranks 14th in Cornell history for career saves (260) and needs 11 more to surpass Tom Wagner and move into 13th place.
•Domenic Massimilian ranks ninth in Cornell history for career face-offs won (217) and needs just 15 more to move into eighth place, passing Tanner Campbell.
 
NCAA CAREER LEADERBOARD:
•Matt Donovan ranks 14th among current Division I players for career goals with 117. He is 14th overall in career points (181) and 28th in career assists (64).
•Connor Buczek ranks 22nd among current Division I players for career goals with 102. He is 30th overall in career points (150) and 44th in career assists (48).
•Dan Lintner ranks 38th among current Division I players for career goals with 87.
•John Hogan ranks 50th among current Division I players for career assists with 45.
 
FACE-OFF FRENZY: In his first season as a starter, sophomore Domenic Massimilian has been outstanding for the Big Red. He ranks sixth in the nation with a .648 face-off winning percentage. He is also second in the country with 9.36 ground balls per game … Massimilian has won the face-off battle in 12-of-14 Big Red games this season and has led the team in ground balls in 11-of-14 games.

TOP 10 NATION: The Big Red is ranked in the top 10 nationally in just two statistical categories – face-off winning percentage (second – .652), and ground balls per game (fifth – 36.00).

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 110-of-230 points coming from the attack unit (48 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. 
 
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 735-460-27 all-time, and its 735 victories rank seventh among the winningest programs in collegiate lacrosse.
 
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).
 
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN:  The Big Red 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.
 
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.