GAME INFORMATION
GAME #13: Cornell at Princeton
FACE OFF: Saturday, April 30 at 12:00 p.m.
SITE: Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium (Princeton, N.J.)
2016 Records: Cornell (6-6, 1-4 Ivy League); Princeton (4-8, 1-4 Ivy)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 40-37-2
LAST MEETING: Princeton won 11-7; May 1, 2015 in Providence, R.I.
                            
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Cornell men's lacrosse team is looking to finish the season strong when it travels to Princeton to take on the Tigers at Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium on Saturday, April 30 at noon. It will be the Big Red's first trip to Princeton since 2012, as every game since that time has been played at either a neutral site (2013, 2014, 2015 Ivy League Tournament game), or in Ithaca (2013 Ivy League Tournament game, 2015).  The game will be broadcast to a nationwide audience on ESPNU with Mike Corey (play-by-play) and Ryan Boyle (color commentary) on the call.     
 
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 40-37-2 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 16 after consecutive wins in 2014 and 2015 regular season.
 
LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON: No. 15 Princeton scored three unanswered goals in the third quarter and held the Big Red scoreless for a stretch of 31:01, then stifled a late Cornell rally to avenge the previous weekend's loss in Ithaca, advancing to the Ivy League Tournament finals with an 11-7 victory at Brown's Stevenson Field. Matt Donovan was outstanding with one goal and four assists and Domenic Massimilian won 11-of-19 faceoffs, but Cornell ran into a hot goalie in the Tigers' Tyler Blaisdell who made 14 saves and surrendered just seven goals to earn the win. Massimilian also picked up seven ground balls, giving him 138 on the year to break Doug Tesoriero's school record for ground balls in a single season (133). Connor Buczek chipped in two goals as Cornell's only other multi-goal scorer. Short stick defensive midfielder Chris Cook had a solid game with five ground balls and three of the team's five caused turnovers, while Marshall Peters picked up three ground balls and had an impressive defensive effort in holding Princeton's Kip Orban to one goal and just four shots. Princeton was led by Mike MacDonald's four goals and two assists, while Gavin McBride registered his first career hat trick in the win. For the second week in a row, the statistics were fairly even between the two teams with Cornell holding a slim edge in shots (33-32) and shots on goal (21-19) and turning the ball over two fewer times than Princeton (14-12). The Big Red also won three more face-offs (11-of-19), but several times the Tigers were able to win the ball back with timely caused turnovers. Both teams picked up 28 ground balls. Also for the second week in a row, the game seemed to turn on one dominant quarter. Previously, it was the Big Red scoring nine unanswered in the second quarter to give the home team a lead it wouldn't relinquish. This game, it was the Tigers using long possessions and taking advantage of several Cornell turnovers to score the only three goals of the third quarter to go up, 8-3. The Big Red responded by scoring four of the first five goals of the fourth quarter to make it a two-goal game at 9-7 with just over three minutes to play, but Blaisdell posted his 14th save of the game on Cornell's next possession and the Tigers cashed in a pair of late goals to account for the 11-7 final.
 
                
A WIN OVER THE TIGERS WOULD:
• give Cornell a winning record for the 18th consecutive season.
• give Cornell 12 wins in the last 14 meetings with the Tigers dating back to a 12-11 overtime victory in 2004.
• cut Princeton's lead down to two games (40-38-2) in the series.
• improve Head Coach Matt Kerwick's record to 3-1 vs. the Tigers.
• improve head coach Matt Kerwick's career record to 130-118.
• be the 742nd win in program history.
• make Cornell 67-64 all-time when unranked in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
• improve Cornell to 247-50 all-time vs. teams unranked in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
 
CAMPUS CONNECTIONS:
• Cornell associate head coach Peter Milliman came to Cornell after one season as a member of the Princeton coaching staff, helping the Tigers to a 9-6 record overall and a mark of 4-2 in the Ivy League in 2013. 
• Colton Rupp, Jack Bolen and Princeton junior Mark Strabo all attended the Landon School.
• Tony Britton and Princeton senior Bobby Weaver both attended Darien High School.
• Walt Gahagan and Princeton's Matt Brophy and Sean Connor all attended Deerfield Academy.
• Jordan Dowiak and Princeton's Emmet Cordrey and Will Reynolds all attended Delbarton School.
 
THE HEAD COACH: Matt Kerwick (27-17, .614) 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' 121-year history ... Kerwick has 17 years of head coaching experience (129-118).
 
UNRANKED BIG RED/UNRANKED TIGERS: It's been 28 years since Cornell and Princeton have played each other with neither team being nationally ranked, with the last occurrence happening on April 30, 1988. The Big Red won that game, 21-5, and went on to be the national runner-up.
Below are some highlights from 1988 …
Category --- 1988 --- 2016
Loaf of bread --- $0.61 --- $2.32
Milk (Gallon) --- $2.30 --- $3.52
New Car --- $10,400 --- $22,000
Gas (Regular) --- $0.91 --- $2.33
New House --- $91,600 --- $281,500
Postage Stamp --- $0.25 --- $0.47
Household Income --- $27,225.00 --- $53,657
No. 1 Song --- "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" by  Whitney Houston --- "Hands to Myslef" by Selena Gomez
 
ROOKIE CLASS NOTES:
• The Big Red's freshman class is the second highest scoring rookie class in program history with 78 points coming from seven players – Colton Rupp (23), Ryan Bray (21), Clarke Petterson (14), Anthony Teixeira (nine points), Zach Ward (six points), Jake McCulloch (four points) and Conor O'Brien (one point).
• The 78 points ranks behind the freshman class of 2009 that saw 86 points come from three players – Rob Pannell (67 points), Roy Lang (11 points), and Mitch McMichael (eight points).
• The 2016 rookies are just the third in Cornell history to register more than 75 points, surpassing the 2002 freshmen that had 76 points come from three players – Sean Greenhalgh (42 points), Justin Redd (31 points) and J.D. Nelson (eight points).
• In the 40 seasons since freshmen became eligible to participate in varsity athletics, Cornell has had a freshman class register at least 40 points just seven times (2016, 2009, 2006, 2002, 2003, 2000, 1995).
• There have been 17 seasons in which the Big Red received just single-digit points from its freshman class (2015, 2014, 2008, 2007, 2005, 1994, 1993, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1981, 1978, 1977).
• Cornell has had three seasons in which a freshman did not register a single point (2007, 1986, 1978).
 
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE:
• Cornell has enjoyed a true home field advantage since beginning play on Schoellkopf Field in 1972, going 230-81 for a .740 winning percentage, with 12 undefeated seasons.
• Cornell has been even more impressive since 2000, going 95-27 overall (.780) with perfect slates in 2015 (6-0), 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0).
 
TOP SCORING FRESHMAN: Colton Rupp ranks third in Cornell history for the most goals scored by a freshman (22). He needs three more goals to tie Rob Pannell (2009), while Sean Greenhalgh (39 in 2002) and Matt Wise (29 in 1995) hold the top two spots.
 
BABY BIG RED: Of the 39 players that have seen action so far this season, more than one-third (15) are freshmen, including seven that have started at least one game – Colton Rupp (12 starts – attack), Ryan Bray (10 starts – midfield), Clarke Petterson (9 starts – midfield), Zach Ward (5 starts – attack), Anthony Teixeira (5 starts – attack), Chad Otterman (3 starts – defense) and Jake McCulloch (1 start – midfield).
 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS
• Colton Rupp has registered one point in seven straight games.
• Clarke Petterson has at least one point in six consecutive games.
• Domenic Massimilian has reached 100 ground balls in each of the past two seasons.
 
TEAM STREAKS
• Cornell's defense has caused at least five turnovers in six of its last eight games.
• The Big Red has won three consecutive overtime games.
 
RANKED OPPONENTS:  Of the Big Red's 13 opponents this season, five are currently ranked in the current  USILA Coaches' Poll – Brown (second), Albany (fifth), Yale (sixth), Syracuse (eighth), and Penn State (18th) … Two others – Penn and Virginia – are also receiving votes … This season, Cornell went 2-4 vs. ranked opponents.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Cornell is 36-19 in games that have been decided by a single goal, a mark that was raised when the Big Red defeated Lehigh, 13-12, on April 16, 2016. Of the 19 losses, 16 have come against ranked opponents, including 11 against squads ranked in the top-10, five of which were ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation.
 
TOP 10 NATION: The Big Red opened the week ranked in the top 10 nationally in three statistical categories – man-down defense (second – .788), face-off winning percentage (seventh –.632), and ground balls per game (10th – 31.83).
 
FACE-OFF FRENZY: Domenic Massimilian entered the week ranked seventh in the nation in face-off win percentage (.637) … For his career, he has won at least .500 percent of his face offs in 23-of-27 games.
 
GOOD OFF THE GROUND: Domenic Massimilian ranks first in the nation in ground balls per game (9.91) … For his career; he has led the team in ground balls in 23-of-27 contests.
 
CAUSING A COMMOTION: Tony Britton is ranked 16th in the nation in caused turnovers per game (1.67). With 20 caused turnovers he ranks 11th all-time in Cornell history for caused turnovers in a single-season. 
 
MOVING ON UP IN CORNELL HISTORY:
• Domenic Massimilian ranks third place in career face-offs won (403) ... He needs 100 to move into second place.
• Domenic Massimilian ranks fifth in career ground balls (261) … He needs nine more to move into fourth place.
• Marshall Peters ranks sixth in caused turnovers (44) … He needs seven more to move into fifth place.
• Tony Britton ranks ninth in caused turnovers (32) … He needs three more to move into eighh place.
• Christian Knight ranks 13th in career saves (286) … He needs 23 more to move into 12th place.
 
FRESHMAN FOUR: Cornell has started at least four freshmen in each of its last 10 games. Dating back to the 2003 season, when the games started statistic began to be kept regularly, the Big Red has started four freshmen five times in a season just once – the final five games of the 2010 campaign. In that stretch, Cornell started Mike Bronzino (defense), Jason Noble (defense), AJ Fiore (goalie) and a combination that featured either Ross Gillum (midfield) or Steve Mock (attack). 
 
EXPERIENCE BY THE NUMBERS:
• The Big Red has just five players that have seen action in at least 35 career games – John Edmonds (62), Matt Schattner (54), Marshall Peters (44), Andrew Keith (39), and Tony Britton (39).
• Cornell has 13 players that have seen action in 15-35 games –Domenic Massimilian (32), Walt Gahagan (32), Christian Knight (29), Sean Doyle (28), Brennan Donville (28), Jake Pulver (28), Jordan Dowiak (26), Kason Tarbell (26), Emmy Poccia (20), Jack Bolen (18), Ryan Matthews (18), Scott Flynn (17), and Bradlee Lord (15).
• There are 27 players on the Big Red roster that have played in less than 15 games in their collegiate careers.
 
GROUND BALL GUY: Domenic Massimilian has 109 ground balls so far this season. He is one of just three Big Red players to reach the 100 ground ball plateau twice in a career, joining Doug Tesoriero (2013, 2014) and Tarik Ergin (1982, 1983) … Last season, Massimilian broke Tesoriero's school record for ground balls in a single season with 150.
 
POINT BREAK-DOWN: So far this season, the Big Red attack unit accounting for 63-of-179 points on the season (35%). A year ago, Cornell saw 122-of-256 points coming from the attack unit (48%).
 
TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: On March 17, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced that Cornell senior John Edmonds and junior Domenic Massimilian were added to the 2016 Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
 
U19 TEAM CANADA: Three Big Red – freshman Clarke Petterson, and incoming student-athletes Jeff Teat and Caelahn Bullen – have been named to Team Canada's roster for the upcoming Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) U19 Men's Lacrosse World Championship, as was announced in March by the Canadian Lacrosse Association.
 
ELITE COMPANY:  Over the past 10 seasons (2006-2015) only nine schools have registered 100 victories – Duke (146), UVA (126), Syracuse (124), Denver (121), Cornell (120), Notre Dame (119), Maryland (117), Hopkins (106), North Carolina (102) … During that span, only four have won at least 75 percent of its games – Duke (.785), Virginia (.754), Syracuse (.752), and  Cornell (.750).
 
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN:  The Big Red has three captains this season – seniors Brennan Donville, John Edmonds, and Matt Schattner.
 
HARD HAT: Marshall Peters was selected to carry the Hard Hat for the 2016 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, as well as his sister Ann, all graduated from 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 Matthews' cousin Matt Sutherland played lacrosse at Cornell.
•Sam Welch's parents, Patrick '85 and Ruth Welch '87, are both former Big Red athletes. A two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association champion at 150 pounds, Patrick is in the Cornell Hall of Fame, while Ruth was a three-year letter winner for gymnastics, serving as team captain as a senior.
• 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.
•Anthony Teixeira's great-uncle Stephen W. Fillo graduated from Cornell in 1959.
 
BUCZEK'S BACK: Former Cornell men's lacrosse great Connor Buczek '15 has joined the Big Red staff as a volunteer assistant for the upcoming 2016 season. Buczek, a recipient of a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, is currently a student in Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. 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.