2019 Men's Lacrosse Schedule
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – Pete Milliman, The Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Lacrosse, has announced the Big Red's schedule for the upcoming 2019 season. The 14-game slate features eight teams ranked in the 2019 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll, and includes six home games, as well as a trip to North Caroline to participate in the Crown Lacrosse Classic, and the team's first trip to South Bend, Indiana since 1991 to take on Notre Dame. As always, the Big Red schedule will feature the ever-competitive Ivy League conference games, several games with traditional rivals, and the 10th season of the Ivy League Tournament, which will return to New York City for the second straight year.
 
"We're really excited about the competitive schedule we've put together for the 2019 season," said Milliman. "We wanted to challenge our guys and when you see how many of these teams are ranked in the preseason, we think we've done that.
 
"It's also going to be a great experience to travel to some new places this year, like Notre Dame," he added. "We're looking forward to bringing the Cornell program to a growing lacrosse hotbed where we get to compete against two outstanding opponents in The Crown Classic down in Charlotte."

Game #1: at Hobart (Geneva, N.Y. – Feb. 22 at 5 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: NR
2018 Record: 4-10 (1-5 NEC)
2018 Conference Finish: 6th
• The season opener comes against Cornell's oldest rival.
• The most contested rivalry in collegiate men's lacrosse history, the 2019 game will be the 138th meeting in the series.
• Cornell leads 86-47-1.
• The Big Red won the last meeting, 15-8, on Feb. 24, 2018 on Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell has won 16 of the last 18 against the Statesmen.

Game #2: Lehigh (Ithaca, N.Y. – Feb. 24 at 1 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 13
2018 Record: 10-7 (5-3 Patriot)
2018 Conference Finish: 4th
• The home opener on Schoellkopf Field.
• The Mountain Hawks are the first collegiate team that Cornell ever played in men's lacrosse in a contest held on May 4, 1893.
• Lehigh owns the 9-7-3 record in the all-time series, but all of the Mountain Hawks' victories came prior to World War I.
• Cornell has won seven consecutive games (1954, 1955, 2006, 2016, 2017, 2018) but the teams have met only four times in the past 63 years.
• The Big Red won last year's contest, 12-10, in Bethlehem, Pa.
 
Game #3: Albany (Ithaca, N.Y. – March 2 at 3 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 15
2018 Record: 16-3 (5-1 America East)
2018 Conference Finish: 1st
• Albany has won four straight against the Big Red to improve to 4-2 in the all-time series.
• The Great Danes earned an 11-9 victory last season in Albany, N.Y.
 
Game #4: vs. Penn State (Charlotte, N.C. – March 8 at 7 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 10
2018 Record: 8-6 (2-3 Big 10)
2018 Conference Finish: 4th
• Cornell and Penn State will play in a neutral site game for the second straight year at the Crown Lacrosse Classic.
• The Big Red knotted the series at 21-21 when it defeated PSU, 9-7, last season in Sparks, Md.
• The Nittany Lions are coached by former Cornell head coach, Jeff Tambroni, who is now in his ninth season at Penn State.
 
Game #5: vs. Towson (Charlotte, N.C. – March 10 at 1 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: NR
2018 Record: 7-8 (3-2 CAA)
2018 Conference Finish: 2nd
• Cornell and Towson will have the first neutral site contest of the series when the teams meet on the final day of the Crown Lacrosse Classic.
• The Big Red is a perfect 2-0 against the Tigers with both meetings coming in NCAA Tournament play (2005, 2007).
 
Game #6: at Yale (New Haven Conn. – March 16 at 1 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 1
2018 Record: 17-3 (6-0 Ivy)
2018 Conference Finish: 1st
• Ivy League play begins as the Big Red travels to the defending national champions, Yale, in the 80th meeting all-time.
• Cornell snapped a three-game skid against the Bulldogs when it upset No. 1 Yale in the championship game of the 2018 Ivy League Tournament, 14-8, in New York City.
• The Big Red holds the commanding 52-26-1 lead in the all-time series.
 
Game #7: St. Bonaventure (Ithaca, N.Y. – March 19 at 5 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: NR
2018 Record: N/A
2018 Conference Finish: N/A
• St. Bonaventure begins its first season of varsity men's lacrosse in 2019.
• Bonnies' Head Coach Randy Mearns is a familiar face, having coached against Cornell during his 19 seasons as the head coach at Canisius College.
• Mearns is 0-9 all-time vs. the Big Red.
• Mearns has also coached several Cornell players, including junior Jeff Teat this past summer, as the head coach of Team Canada at the past two FIL World Championships.
 
Game #8: Penn (Ithaca, N.Y. – March 23 at 1 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 23
2018 Record: 7-8 (3-3 Ivy)
2018 Conference Finish: 3rd
• The Cornell and Penn rivalry is the second-oldest in the Ivy League, beginning in the Quakers' second varsity season in 1901.
• The two programs began playing each other regularly in 1920, meeting nearly every season since.
• The 2019 edition will be the 95th meeting, with the Big Red holding a dominating 66-25-3 record overall, including winning 10 of the last 13 meetings.
• A year ago, Cornell pulled away in the second half to earn a 20-13 victory in Philadelphia.
 
Game #9: Dartmouth (Ithaca, N.Y. – March 30 at 1 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: NR
2018 Record: 2-11 (0-6 Ivy)
2018 Conference Finish: 7th
• Cornell will face Dartmouth for the 69th time in program history.
• The Big Red has dominated the series, posting an all-time record of 53-15, and winning 19 of the last 21, including eight in a row.
• Cornell defeated the Big Green, 22-11, a year ago in Hanover.

 Game #10: at Harvard (Cambridge, Mass. – April 6 at 1 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: NR
2018 Record: 7-6 (2-4 Ivy)
2018 Conference Finish: 6th
• The Cornell and Harvard rivalry dates back nearly as far as both teams' lacrosse programs, as the two squads first squared off in the 1895 season.
• Standing at 93 meetings, the series is the third most contested in the Ivy League, a mark good for 10th in NCAA DI.
• The Big Red won that first meeting, 2-1, and has dominated ever since, holding a 66-26 record overall.
• Cornell has won two in a row after a 15-11 victory last year on Schoellkopf Field.

 Game #11: at Syracuse (Syracuse, N.Y. – April 9 at 7 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 11
2018 Record: 8-7 (4-0 ACC)
2018 Conference Finish: 1st
• Since the rivalry began in 1920, there have been only four seasons (1944, 1945, 1977, 1978) that the two squads have not faced each other.
• With 107 meetings in the books, the rivalry is the third most contested in NCAA DI men's lacrosse history.
• Cornell has won two in a row against the Orange for the first time since defeating SU twice during the 1987 season.
• Syracuse holds the 64-41-1 record all-time.
• The rivalry has been far closer in recent years. Since 2000, SU holds a slim 12-10 lead, and the teams have played eight one-goal games, with two others being decided by two goals.
 
 Game #12: at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind. – April 14 at 12 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 6
2018 Record: 9-6 (1-3 ACC)
2018 Conference Finish: 3rd
• The final non-conference game of the regular season.
• Cornell and Notre Dame will face off for the first time since 2010, with the Big Red making its first trip to South Bend since 1991.
• The teams have met six times, with three of those contests coming at neutral sites.
• The Fighting Irish won the last meeting, 12-7, defeating Cornell in the national semifinals of the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Baltimore.
   
Game #13: at Brown (Providence, R.I. – April 20 at 1 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: NR
2018 Record: 6-9 (3-3 Ivy)
2018 Conference Finish: 4th
• The game with Brown will conclude a four-game road trip for the Big Red.
• The Cornell/Brown rivalry began when the Bears joined the Ivy League in men's lacrosse in 1964.
• The Big Red came away with an 8-7 victory in that first meeting, and won 23 of the first 28 games between the two programs.
• The Bears won eight-straight contests vs. Cornell from 1991 to 1997 to gain some ground in the series, which Cornell leads, 38-21.
• Cornell snapped a three game skid to the Bears with a pair of victories last season, dominating Brown in the regular season, 19-5, before taking a 7-5 victory in the opening round of the 2018 Ivy League Men's Lacrosse Tournament.  

Game #14: Princeton (Ithaca, N.Y. – April 27 at 12 p.m.)
IL Preseason Ranking: 14
2018 Record: 8-5 (3-3 Ivy)
2018 Conference Finish: 3rd
• Senior Day on Schoellkopf Field.
• Princeton dominated the first 25 meetings, winning or tying all but one contest, to help it to a 42-38-2 record in the all-time series.
• Cornell won 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 13 of the last 19, but Princeton ended its 2018 season on a high note with a 14-8 win over the Big Red in New Jersey.