BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second time this week, the Cornell men's lacrosse team won a thriller, as Colton Rupp bounced in a shot with 0.1 showing on the clock to lift the Big Red over Lehigh, 13-12, this afternoon at Goodman Stadium. John Edmonds assisted on Rupp's tally, giving the senior a career-high six points on the day. Coupled with the overtime win vs. No. 11 Syracuse on Tuesday, Cornell is now 6-5 on the season.
 
Just two minutes early, it looked as though the Big Red was headed for its sixth loss of the season, but some late game heroics by Clarke Petterson turned the tide, as the freshman midfielder scored twice in a span of 1:01 to spur a wild comeback in the final 1:19 of the contest. 
 
"[Petterson and Rupp] are out there for a reason," said Matt Kerwick, the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Lacrosse. "They earn it in practice every day. It doesn't surprise me because I see it every day … Seeing those freshman develop and make those plays is pretty impressive late in the game. But they play with a lot of fight and calm to their game. They're very patient and most importantly they work on their craft. And to see it pay off for them is a tribute to their work ethic."
 
Petterson and Rupp both finished with two goals, with Petterson adding one assist, while senior Ryan Matthews finished with a team-high four goals.
 
Cornell dominated time of possession, thanks to a 25-of-27 performance in the face-off circle, including a perfect 13-of-13 after halftime. Domenic Massimilian won 17-of-19 and matched a career-high with 17 ground balls, while Grant Mahler was a perfect 8-of-8 with six ground balls.
 
Lehigh countered the Big Red's face-off dominance with relentless pressure, forcing the visitors into 23 turnovers, 20 of which were caused by the Mountain Hawks.
 
"I told the guys after the game that sometimes good teams win ugly and that certainly was an ugly one for us today," said Kerwick. "We had way too many turnovers all over the field in every facet – clearing, defensively, off the face-off, offensively. You can't turn the ball over that many times. It's a tribute to the work ethic of these guys that they kept battling and fighting to the finish. I thought a lot of the turnovers were due to their pressure and their intensity and they seemed to be a step quicker today and we're glad to get out of here with the win."
 
Lehigh was led by Reid Weber's six points on five goals and one assist. The senior scored three consecutive goals late in the second quarter in the midst of a 6-1 Lehigh run that erase what had been a 4-1 Cornell lead to put the home team up, 7-6 at the half.
 
"I thought in that second quarter we were sluggish and turned it over a couple times early to give them the opportunity to come back when we were up 4-1," said Kerwick. "[Weber] for them, that's as impressive a display that I've seen from an offensive player. He was a handful. He goes to the cage strong, and we knew that coming in, but to see it in person today was impressive."
 
The second half of play featured three ties and neither team led by more than one-goal until consecutive goals by Weber and Chris Appell made it an 11-9 contest heading into the final quarter. Edmonds scored with just over six minutes gone in the final quarter, but Andrew Pettit scored his second of the game to make it 12-10 with 6:47 to play.

NOTES TO KNOW
* Cornell has won five straight vs. Patriot League opponents.
* The Big Red has now beaten two consecutive Patriot League foes – Colgate and Lehigh – on a goal with 0.1 to play.
* Cornel has won four straight games vs. Lehigh.
* John Edmonds finished with a career-high six points.
* Ryan Bray posted a career-high three assists.
* Ryan Matthews had a career-high four goals.
* Dom Massimilian matched a career-high with 17 ground balls.
* Cornell's man-down defense has now killed off 11 consecutive penalties, holding four straight opponents without a man-up goal.