NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Senior Christian Knight set the Ivy League Men's Lacrosse Tournament record, and matched a career-high with 19 saves and the Big Red defense stymied Brown all night in a 7-4 win in the second semifinal at the 2018 Ivy League Men's Lacrosse Tournament at Columbia's Wien Stadium. No. 10 Cornell will face top-ranked Yale on Sunday, May 6 at 12 p.m. in the championship game with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Knight's 19 saves, a number he has reached three times previously, highlighted an unexpected defensive showcase, with Brown's first-team All-Ivy goalkeeper Phil Goss making 14 saves, good for third in Ivy League Tournament history. The 33 combined saves are the most ever for an Ivy League Tournament game. Knight's 19 saves also moved him into fifth place all-time in Cornell history with 569 career saves. 

Unlike a 19-5 Big Red win over the Bears two weekends ago when Cornell scored the game's first 11 goals, the offense was never able to get totally on track. Jeff Teat, who spent most of the night patiently waiting to strike while being face-guarded, still ended the evening with a goal and two assists. John Piatelli (two goals, assist) and Clarke Petterson (goal, two assists) also had three-point evenings, while Jake McCulloch was credited with a pair of goals.

Four different Brown players scored goals, but the Bears weren't able to tally a six-on-six score until midway through the fourth quarter. The Bears held a 42-32 edge in shots and won 9-of-14 face-offs, but the third seed couldn't solve Knight.
 
In front of Knight, the Big Red defense was solid, registering a season-high 11 caused turnovers with the close defense of Dom Doria (three), Jake Pulver (two) and Fleet Wallace (one) combining for six. Wallace's lone caused turnover was particularly timely, as he forced a Brown miscue with under two minutes to play and moments later Cornell registered its seventh goal.  

"The defense answered the bell when we needed them to," said defensive coordinator Jordan Stevens '15. "Brown's a team that really relies on their rhythm and we got on them early and stayed pretty consistent throughout. And our goalie play was outstanding. I think Christian is the best goalie in the country and he played like it tonight. He's as important of a player for our team as any player I've ever been around."   

Cornell never trailed, but also never built a cushion until the final minutes. That only came after the Big Red killed a one minute non-releasable penalty with under four minutes to play and clinging on to a 6-4 edge. The Cornell man-down defense came up huge, allowing just three shots with none coming on goal. When the Big Red finally gained possession off Wallace's caused turnover, Teat found Piatelli on a backdoor cut and finish to put Cornell into the final for the third time in school history.

Teat jumped into the top 10 in school history in career points (162) and became just the eighth Cornell player to reach 90 points in a season.
 
Sunday's game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.