BALTIMORE – The Cornell men's lacrosse team has been selected to finish fifth in the 2019 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll, as was announced this afternoon by the publication. Since 2010, Cornell has been picked to finish among the top 10 six times.
 
Earning its highest preseason ranking since being chosen to finish third overall in 2012, the Big Red returns 19 letter winners and seven starters to a squad that exceeded all expectations in 2018, evidenced by the team's appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals.
 
After back-to-back losing seasons in 2016 and 2017, the Big Red started the 2018 season well outside the top 20 and were picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League. But under the direction of then-interim head coach Peter Milliman Cornell continually improved and returned to the USILA Coaches' Poll on March 26 (No. 14) ending a 29-week unranked drought, the longest stretch in school history.
 
The team went on to finish second in the conference with a mark of 4-2 before winning the program's first Ivy League Tournament title since the 2011 campaign. The Big Red concluded the year with an overall record of 13-5, posting eight more wins than it did the previous season (5), matching the best single-season turnaround in program history. Cornell finished the year ranked in the top five in the nation in goals, assists, points, scoring margin, and shooting percentage.
 
Inside Lacrosse will announce its annual preseason All-American teams in the near future.