GAME INFORMATION
GAME #15: No. 11 Cornell vs. No. 6 Albany
FACE OFF: Saturday, May 9 at 12:00 p.m.
SITE: Schoellkopf Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2015 Records: Cornell (10-5, 4-2 Ivy League); Albany (15-2, 6-0 AE)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 2-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 16-9, February 28, 2015 in Dallas, Texas
GAME NOTES: Cornell | Albany 

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THE MATCHUP: For the third year in a row, the No. 11 Cornell men's lacrosse team has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and as the eighth seed in the tournament the Big Red will host in-state rival No. 6 Albany on Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, May 9, at noon. The contest will be the Big Red's first home game in the NCAA first round since hosting Hartford in 2011. The game will be televised live on ESPNU and streamed live 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.CornellBigRed.com.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. UALBANY: Cornell holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with Albany, defeating the Great Danes in overtime of 2007 NCAA tournament quarterfinals, held in Princeton, N.J., as well as winning the match-up earlier this season in the seventh annual Patriot Cup held in Dallas, Texas.

LOOKING AT THE GREAT DANES: Albany earned the automatic bid for the America East, bringing a 15-2 overall record (6-0 America East) and one of the most dominant offensive players in the country in Lyle Thompson into Saturday's contest. Thompson finished the America East championship game with nine points against Stony Brook to go over 100 points for the third consecutive year. But the team doesn't rely solely on Thompson, as Connor Fields and Seth Oakes will enter the weekend with 77 and 61 points, respectively. In the face-off circle, Connor Russell had taken the majority of draws for the Great Danes (102-of-193; .528) before suffering a season-ending injury. Since that time, Cason Liles has stepped into the circle and has been impressive, winning 93-of-173 chances for a .538 winning percentage. In goal, Blaze Riorden has started all 17 games and has posted a 9.64 goals-against average with a .556 save percentage.
 
LAST TIME VS. ALBANY: In freezing rain and snowy conditions, the No. 13 Big Red upset No. 8 Albany at SMU's Ford Field in Dallas at the seventh annual Patriots Cup on Feb. 28, 2015. After trailing 3-1 midway through the first quarter, the Big Red went on a 10-2 run to take control of the game en-route to the decisive victory. Connor Buczek led the Big Red with five goals and one assist, while Matt Donovan finished with five points for the third straight game with three goals and two assist. After playing a pair of games indoors, Christian Knight showed how good he can be in the light of day, making 14 saves, including nine in the final quarter as the Big Red held off Albany's comeback bid. Domenic Massimilian was solid in the face-off circle, winning 17-of-29 restarts and picking up 11 ground balls.  He was helped on the wings by Chris Cook, who picked up seven ground balls. Albany was led by Lyle Thompson's two goals and two assists. Cornell defender Jordan Stevens did an outstanding job on Thompson, who also finished the day with nine turnovers. In cage, Blaze Riorden made 12 saves in the loss. Cornell held the advantage in shots (43-33), shots on goal (28-23) and ground balls (40-38) and went 4-for-5 on man-up chances. Cornell also cleared the ball on 17-of-19 attempts, while Albany was successful on just 17-of-21.
 
A WIN OVER ALBANY WOULD:
• send the Big Red into the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament quarterfinals for the eighth time since 2004.
• improve Cornell to 33-23 overall in NCAA tournament games.
• improve Cornell to 3-0 vs. Albany, including 2-0 all-time vs. the Great Danes in NCAA games.
• give the Big Red an undefeated season on Schoellkopf Field for just the 13th time since first beginning to play there in 1972.
• give Cornell at least 11 wins in three consecutive seasons and in nine of the last 10 seasons overall.
• Improve the Big Red to 4-4 vs. nationally-ranked opponents.
• make Cornell 4-1 this season in games on national television.
• improve Head Coach Matt Kerwick's record to 2-0 vs. the Great Danes.
• improve Coach Kerwick's career record to 131-111 overall and 22-10 at Cornell.
• be the 736th win in program history, improving Cornell to 736-461-27 all-time.
• give Cornell its first-ever win as a number eight seed in the NCAA Tournament (0-4).
• improve Cornell to 10-4 all-time vs. an unseeded opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
• make Cornell 16-7 all-time when ranked No. 11 in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
• improve Cornell to 6-7 all-time vs. the No. 6 ranked team in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
 
CORNELL VS. THE AMERICA EAST: The Big Red is 23-6 all-time vs. the current members of the America East. Cornell is 12-0 all-time vs. Binghamton, 5-0 vs. Stony Brook, 2-0 vs. Albany and 1-0 vs. Hartford. The Big Red has a losing record vs. UMBC (5-6) and has never faced Vermont ... Cornell has won its last 20 games vs. America East opponents.
 
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND:  Cornell has traditionally been very successful against collegiate teams from New York state, posting an all-time record of 284-161-7 (.635) … The Big Red has played seven teams from New York so far this season, posting a record of 6-1.
 
CAMPUS CONNECTIONS:
• Cornell freshman Kason Tarbell is brothers with Albany sophomore Ky Tarbell. The pair are among four total players that attended Salmon River high school, including Albany's Seth Oakes and Dalton Roundpoint.
• The Great Danes' Riley and Eli Lasda are the sons of former Big Red midfielder Brian Lasda '77 and attended Ithaca high school.
• Cornell assistant coach Chris Kivlen is a 2005 graduate of the University at Albany and was an assistant coach for the 2007 Great Dane squad that fell to the Big Red in the NCAA quarterfinals.
 
HOW'D WE GET HERE: With its 10th-ranked RPI and its fifth-best strength of schedule in the nation, the Big Red earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the number eight seed after finishing the regular season with a 10-5 record overall and mark of 4-2 in the Ivy League. Albany earned its third consecutive America East title to snag the conference's AQ bid. The Great Danes finished the regular season with a 15-2 record overall and a mark of 6-0 in the conference.
 
TOURNAMENT TIDBITS: Cornell's 32 NCAA tournament victories ranks fifth all-time, while its 27 appearances ranks sixth … Only five teams have more national titles than the Big Red … The 2015 season marks Cornell's 11th trip to the NCAA tournament in the past 12 years, making it to the quarterfinal round seven times, the semifinals four times and the national championship once since 2004.
 
SEEDED CORNELL:
• Of its 27 NCAA tournament appearances, Cornell has been seeded 20 times.
• In those 20 tournaments, the Big Red has posted a record of 24-16.
• The Big Red was last seeded in 2011 when it was seeded number two … Cornell has been unseeded in each of its last two NCAA tournament appearances (2013, 2014), after not making the tournament in 2012.
• The last time the Big Red was seeded, (number two seed in 2011), Cornell fell to Virginia 13-9 in the quarterfinals.
 
CORNELL AS THE NO. 8 SEED:
• The Big Red is 0-4 all-time as the eighth seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The last time Cornell was an eight seed in the NCAA Tournament was during the 2008 season when it fell to Ohio State, 15-7.
 
CORNELL VS. UNDEEDED OPPONENTS:
• The Big Red is 9-4 all-time vs. unseeded opponents in the NCAA tournament.
• Cornell won its last outing vs. an unseeded opponent by defeating Hartford 12-5 on Schoellkopf Field during the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
• The last Big Red lost to an unseeded opponent came in a 12-7 decision vs. Notre Dame in the 2010 NCAA semifinals.
 
FOUR SURE: Cornell has had its share of Final Four appearances in NCAA team competition over the years. Of those Big Red teams, the men's lacrosse team has made the most appearances with 13 overall.
• Men's Lacrosse (13) - 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1987, 1988, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013
• Men's Ice Hockey (8) - 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980, 2003
• Women's Ice Hockey (3) – 2010, 2011, 2012
• Women's Lacrosse (1) - 2002
• Men's Soccer (1) – 1972
 
TITLE CONTENDERS: Cornell University has made 12 appearances in various NCAA national championship games … The Big Red has had five teams crowned as national champions.
• Men's Lacrosse (7) – 1971 (W), 1976 (W), 1977 (W), 1978, 1987, 1988, 2009
• Men's Ice Hockey (4) – 1967 (W), 1969, 1970 (W), 1972
• Women's Ice Hockey (1) – 2010
 
THE HEAD COACH: Matt Kerwick (21-10, .677) 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 (130-111) 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.
 
TWO GOALS FOR TODAY: There are only six midfielders in Ivy League history to record both 40 goals in a single season and 100 goals in a career, and Cornell's Connor Buczek is just two goals away from joining that elite group. Buczek has 104 career goals and 38 so far this season. 
 
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 44-18 overall (.710) with a mark of 19-5 in Ivy League play (.792). They have also appeared in three 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: With his seven ground balls vs. Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament, sophomore Domenic Massimilian broke Doug Tesoriero's school record for ground balls in a single season with 138. Massimilian is averaging 9.2 ground balls per game.
1.   138         Domenic Massimilian (2015)
2.   133         Doug Tesoriero (2013)
3.   127         Craig Jaeger (1978)
 
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:
• With his two goals vs. Princeton at the Ivy League Tournament, Connor Buczek joined Matt Donovan as the 15^th pair in Cornell history to register 50 points in a season.
• It is 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 … With 152 career points, Buczek is one of just 14 midfielders in Cornell history to reach 100 career points … He also ranks sixth in Ivy League history among midfielders with 104 career goals  … Buczek needs just two 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 13-of-15 games.
• The Big has won 10+ face-offs in 14-of-15 games.
• Opponents have recorded fewer than 10 face-off wins in eight of the last nine games and in 13-of-15 games overall.
• The Big Red has won the ground ball battle in 12-of-15 games.
• Cornell has picked up more than 25 ground balls in all 15 games.
• Opponents have been held to 25 or fewer ground balls eight times.
• Cornell has registered double-digit goals in 9-of-10 victories.
• Opponents have scored 10 or more goals in each of the Big Red's last three games, but just six times all season.
• The Big Red has taken at least 40 shots in 11-of-15 contests.
• Opponents have taken at least 40 shots in 3-of-15 contests.
• Cornell has had more than 20 shots on goal in six consecutive games and in 13-of-15 overall.
• The Big Red defense has held opponents to fewer than 20 shots on goal 10 times, including in 9-of-10 wins.
• The Big Red has scored fewer than 10 goals in six games, including all five losses.
• The Cornell defense has held its opponents to fewer than 10 goals eight times, all of which were Big Red victories.
• Cornell has scored a man-up goal in eight straight games, and in 14-of-15 overall.
• Opponents have scored a man-up goal in 11-of-15 games.
• The Big Red has won two straight overtime contests.
 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS
• Domenic Massimilian has won the face-off battle in 13-of-15 games this season
• Domenic Massimilian has won at least 10 face offs in 14-of-15 games.
• Domenic Massimilian has picked up at least 10 ground balls in 9-of-15 games this season.
• Dan Lintner has registered a hat trick in seven of the Big Red's last 11 games.
• Matt Donovan has registered at least four points in 10 of the Big Red's last 14 games.
• Matt Donovan has registered a hat trick seven times this season.
• Connor Buczek has registered a hat trick eight times this season.
• Connor Buczek has registered at least one point in 19 consecutive games.
• Connor Buczek has registered at least two points in each of Cornell's 15 games this season.
• John Hogan has registered at least one point in 16 consecutive games.
• Chris Cook has picked up at least two ground balls in 14-of-15 games this season.
• Jordan Stevens has picked up at least one ground ball in each of the Big Red's last 35 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 regular season 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 five 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.  
 
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE:
• With its win over Princeton on April 25, the Big Red improved to 6-0 on Schoellkopf Field and remains one of just six NCAA DI teams to have an undefeated home record on the season, joining North Carolina (10-0), Syracuse (8-0), Denver (5-0), Detroit (6-0), and Albany (7-0).
• Cornell has enjoyed a true home field advantage since beginning play on Schoellkopf Field in 1972, going 228-73 for a .757 winning percentage. Cornell has been even more impressive since 2000, going 43-22 overall (.810) with perfect slates in 2015 (6-0), 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0).
 
RANKED OPPONENTS:  The Big Red's 2015 season currently features seven opponents ranked in the USILA Coaches' Poll – Syracuse (first), Albany (sixth), Yale (eighth), Virginia (ninth), Brown (13th), Colgate (14th), and Princeton (15th) … Cornell is 3-4 so far this season vs. ranked opponents, including a pair of games vs. Princeton. The Big Red also defeated Colgate but the Raiders were not ranked at the time of the contest.
 
MOVING ON UP IN CORNELL HISTORY:
•Jordan Stevens ranks third in career caused turnovers (62), needing seven more to pass Thomas Keith in second.
•Matt Donovan ranks eighth in career goals (118) and needs six more to pass Jon Levine in seventh.
•Matt Donovan is fourth in career points (185), 71 points behind Eamon McEneaney in third place.
•Matt Donovan ranks eighth in career assists (68), needing 15 more to pass Al Rimmer in seventh place.
•Connor Buczek ranks 13th in career points (152) and needs four more to move into 11th place.
•Connor Buczek is in ninth place in career goals (104), sitting behind Matt Donovan (118) in eighth place.
•Connor Buczek is tied with Bruce Cohen in 18th place in career assists (48) and needs just two more to tie Wade Bollinger and Max Seibald in 16th place.
•Dan Lintner ranks 20th in career goals (87) and needs just one more to jump into 17^th place.
•John Hogan ranks 25^th with 45 career assists and needs just two more to move into the top 20.
•Christian Knight ranks 14th in career saves (268), needing three more to pass Tom Wagner in 13th place.
•Domenic Massimilian ranks ninth in career face-offs won (228) and needs just four more to move into eighth place, passing Tanner Campbell.
 
NCAA CAREER LEADERBOARD:
•Matt Donovan ranks 13th among current Division I players for career points (186). He is also 15th overall in career goals (118) and and 24th in career assists (68).
•Connor Buczek ranks 23rd among current Division I players for career goals with 104. He is 30th overall in career points (152) and 48th in career assists (48).
•Dan Lintner ranks 36th among current Division I players for career goals with 87.
 
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 .645 face-off winning percentage. He is also second in the country with 9.20 ground balls per game … Massimilian has won the face-off battle in 13-of-15 Big Red games this season and has led the team in ground balls in 12-of-15 games.

TOP 10 NATION: The Big Red is ranked in the top 10 nationally in just two statistical categories – face-off winning percentage (fourth – .648), and ground balls per game (fifth – 35.47).

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 117-of-242 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. 
 
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.
 
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 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.

UP NEXT: The winner of the first round game between Cornell and Albany will advance to meet the winner of the first round game between Notre Dame and Towson/High Point in a quarterfinal contest that will take place at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, May 16. Game time is slated for either 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.