Ithaca, N.Y. – The men's polo team toppled the defending national champion Colorado State University Rams 17-15 at the Oxley Equestrian on Saturday night.   The match served as both teams' final warm-up before their respective regional tournaments. 
 
The last time Cornell and CSU met was in the final of the William S. Field Fall Invitational where Cornell scraped out the 17-16 shootout victory.  It was apparent from the first chukker this match would be just as competitive as the last. 
 
CSU jumped ahead 3-2 at the start of the first but Cornell's unstoppable starting trio of Ignacio Masias, Ryan Saul, and Dan Shaw took a 5-3 by the end of the chukker.
 
Cornell never dropped its lead as the teams swapped back and forth goals in the second to bring the score to 9-7 Big Red. 
 
The third saw Cornell increase its lead to 12-9 to head into the fourth.  Cornell opened the fourth with a four-goal lead but the Rams quickly pulled the score back to a two-goal difference.  Fortunately for Cornell that is where the scoring ended.  The Big Red walked away with the 17-15 victory.  In total, Masias tallied 13 goals, Saul contributed two with Shaw adding one and one penalty goal. 
 
The win puts the Big Red at a 13-2 advantage going into USPA Northeast Intercollegiate Regionals held at the Oxley Equestrian Center next weekend.