GAME INFORMATION
GAME #17: No. 8 Cornell vs. No. 11 Syracuse
FACE OFF: Sunday, March 13, at 7:15 p.m.
SITE: The Carrier Dome (Syracuse, N.Y.)
2018 Records: Cornell (12-4, 4-2 Ivy League); Syracuse (8-6, 4-0 ACC)
SERIES RECORD: Syracuse leads, 64-40-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell, 13-8 (4/10/2018 in Ithaca)
 
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* FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The third-most contested rivalry in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse takes to the biggest stage when the No. 8 Big Red travels to eighth-seeded Syracuse for the 106th meeting all-time between these two storied programs, happening in  the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament at the Carrier Dome on Sunday, May 13. Cornell (12-4) is coming of its first Ivy League Tournament championship since 2011 after it upset No. 1 Yale, 14-8 in the title game on May 6 to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. No. 11 Syracuse (8-6) snapped a two-game skid when it defeated Colgate, 17-5, in its regular season finale on May 5. The Big Red is unseeded in the NCAA Tournament for just the seventh time out of its 28 appearances, while the Orange have made 38 appearances and are hosting a first round game for the sixth straight season. The game will be televised live on ESPNU and online at www.ESPN3.com with Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Paul Carcaterra (analyst) and Ric Beardsley (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard at www.WHCUradio.com or locally on WHCU 870 AM/95.9 FM with Barry Leonard and Tom LaFalce on the call.
 
THE SERIES VS. SYRACUSE: 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 105 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 on Schoellkopf Field, but has not won at the Dome since 2011.
• Since 2000, SU holds a 12-8 lead, but the teams have played seven one-goal games, with two others being decided by two goals.
 
A WIN OVER SYRACUSE WOULD:
• send the Big Red into the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament quarterfinals for the 21st time overall and the ninth time since 2002.
• improve Cornell to 33-24 overall in NCAA tournament games.
• make the Big Red 5-0 against the number eight seed in NCAA tournament games.
• improve Cornell to 7-6 all-time when unseeded in the NCAA tournament.
• give Cornell 13 wins in a season for the first time since the 2013 team went 14-3.
• tie the best single-season win total improvement in men's lacrosse history, matching the 12-0 1966 team, which posted eight more victories than the 4-7 1965 team.
• give the Big Red back-to-back wins over the Orange for the first time since winning both the regular season and post-season match-up in 1987. 
• make the Big Red 4-0 this season in nationally televised games.
• be the 758th win in program history.
• improve the Big Red to 6-2 vs. nationally ranked opponents this season.
• make Cornell 19-14 all-time when ranked eighth in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
• improve the Big Red to 14-5 vs. the 11th ranked team in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
 
CAMPUS CONNECTIONS:
• Jake Pulver's brother Josh played lacrosse for Syracuse.
• Syracuse's Andrew Helmer is the cousin of former Big Red women's lacrosse players Caroline (2009-12) and Meg Helmer (2011, 2013).
• Clark Petterson and Jeff Teat attended The Hill Academy with SU senior Brendan Bomberry.
• Josh Pulver and SU's Ryan Simmons and Brett Barlow all attended Fayetteville-Manlius HS.
• Cooper Telesco and SU redshirt freshman Brett Kennedy both attended Ridgewood HS.
• Ryan Maloney and SU sophomore Jamie Trimboli both went to Victor HS.
 
THE HEAD COACH
• Peter Milliman (12-4, .750) was named the interim head coach of the Cornell men's lacrosse program on May 8, 2017.
• For the past four seasons, Milliman has served the program, first as an assistant coach and then as the program's Mario St. George Boiardi '04 Associate Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse.
• He is in his fifth season as a head coach (49-30).
 
TOURNAMENT TIDBITS: Cornell's 32 NCAA tournament victories ranks seventh all-time, while its 28 appearances ranks sixth … Only five teams have more national titles than the Big Red … The 2018 season marks Cornell's 14th trip to the NCAA tournament since 2000, making it to the quarterfinal round eight times, the semifinals four times and the national championship game once in that span.
 
UNSEEDED CORNELL:
• Of its 28 NCAA tournament appearances, Cornell has been unseeded just seven times.
• In those seven tournaments, the Big Red has posted a record of 6-6.
• The Big Red was last unseeded in 2014 when it fell to sixth-seed Maryland 8-7.
 
CORNELL VS. SEEDED OPPONENTS:
• The Big Red is 21-21 all-time vs. seeded opponents in the NCAA tournament.
• Cornell lost its last outing vs. a seeded opponent, falling to sixth-seed Maryland 8-7 at Byrd Stadium in 2014.
• The last Big Red defeated a seeded opponent when it beat number-three seeded Ohio State, 16-6, at Byrd Stadium in in the 2013 NCAA quarterfinals.
 
CORNELL VS. THE NUMBER EIGHT SEED:
• The Big Red is a perfect 4-0 vs. the number eight seed in the NCAA tournament.
• Cornell's last meeting with the number eight seed was a 12-2 victory over Washington & Lee in the first round of the 1978 NCAA tournament.
 
TITLE CONTENDERS: Cornell University has made 12 appearances in various NCAA national championship games … The Big Red has had five teams crowned as national champions, including three in men's lacrosse.
• Men's Lacrosse (7) – 1971 (W), 1976 (W), 1977 (W), 1978, 1987, 1988, 2009
• Men's Ice Hockey (4) – 1967 (W), 1969, 1970 (W), 1972
• Women's Ice Hockey (1) – 2010
 
SINGLE SEASON IMPROVEMENT: With its record of 12-4, Cornell has posted seven more wins than it did a season ago (5), the second best single-season turnaround in program history.
• The best single-season turnaround in program history came when the 1966 team earned eight more wins than the 1965 squad, a mark that will be matched with one more victory by the 2018 team.
 
MAY DAY: Cornell's win over Brown in the Ivy League Tournament on May 4 snapped a five-game losing streak in the month of May by the Big Red, giving the program its first May win since 2013.
• The Big Red is now 2-0 in May.
 
TICKLE THE ALL-IVY: The Big Red had nine players named All-Ivy, the most since the 2007 season. Cornell's three first team selections – Jeff Teat (unanimous), Jordan Dowiak, and Jake Pulver (unanimous) – are the most sine first-team honorees since the 2015 season.
 
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: Cornell was chosen to finish fifth in the Ivy League preseason poll, but finished the regular season sitting in second place in the conference standings.
 
TOURNAMENT CHAMPS: Cornell won its first Ivy League Tournament title since 2011 when it upset No. 1 Yale in the championship game on May 6.
 
SHARE THE BALL: Cornell is assisting on nearly 70 percent of its goals this season (.699).
• The Big Red's assist percentage is the highest among all Division I schools.
• There are just seven teams assisting on at least 65 percent of its goals, with Boston U (.678), Princeton (.678), Fairfield (.674), Albany (.670), UMass (.663) and Harvard (.652) and joining Cornell.
• In each of its 12 wins on the season, the Big Red has assisted on at least 65 percent of its goals, with a high of .857 percent vs. Brown in the Ivy League Tournament (7 g, 6 a).
• In three of its four losses, Cornell has assisted on 55 percent or fewer of its goals, with a low of .444 percent vs. Albany (9 g, 4 a). 
 
TOP SCORING MIDFIELD: The Big Red enters the weekend with the second-highest ranked scoring midfield in the nation, as the top two lines have accounted for 153 total points.
• Only the Vermont (154) midfield unit has more points.
• Altogether, only five teams – Vermont (154), Cornell (153), Maryland (151), Albany (145), and Duke (144) – have more than 140 points to its credit.
• The Big Red's first offensive midfield of Jordan Dowiak, Jake McCulloch and Connor Fletcher have the second most goals (77) of any top line, behind Albany (86).
• Cornell's top six midfielders have accounted for 107 goals, the most in the nation.
• Cornell's 46 assists out of the midfield is good for fourth overall, behind Vermont (61), Maryland (61), and Duke (52). 
 
HIGHEST SCORING MIDFIELDERS: Jordan Dowiak ranks seventh in the nation among midfielders with 35 goals.
• Sacred Heart's Max Tuttle tops the list with 46 goals.
 
YRL UNSUNG HERO: Senior Jake Pulver has been named a finalist for the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award, presented by the One Love Foundation, which recognizes one male and one female student-athlete who make significant contributions to their team and community. Named for the women's lacrosse player who lost her life from relationship violence in May 2010, the YRL Unsung Hero Award is given to student-athletes who "demonstrate dedication, integrity, humility, hard work, community service, leadership, kindness and sportsmanship – all qualities Yeardley exemplified throughout her life." Pulver is among three Division I finalists for the Award, and the winner will be announced in late May.
 
ILT TOURNEY MVP: Christian Knight was named the Ivy League Tournament MVP after leading the Big Red to its first Ivy League tournament championship since 2011.
• His 35 saves in two games set a new Ivy League tournament record. 
• Knight recorded a tournament record 19 saves in a 7-4 win over Brown in the semifinals.
• He followed that with a 16-save performance as Cornell upset No. 1 Yale in the championship game to take conference tournament crown and earn the league's NCAA automatic bid.
• He joins Rob Pannell '13 as the only other Big Red player to be named the tournament MVP.
 
WEEKLY HONORS
• The Big Red has earned two Warrior/US Lacrosse Player of the Week awards – Jeff Teat (April 9) and Christian Knight (May 7).
• Cornell has earned three Ivy League Player of the Week honors from two players – Jeff Teat (March 26, April 9) and Christian Knight (March 5).
• The Big Red have had two freshman – John Piatelli (Feb. 27) and Jonathan Donville (April 9, April 16) – take home three Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards.
• Jeff Teat has been named to the USILA Team of the Week three times – Feb. 27, March 26, and April 10.
 
YOUNGEST STAFF: Cornell boasts a pair of recent grads as assistant coaches – Jordan Stevens '15 and Connor Buczek '15. No other Division I staff has two full-time assistant coaches as young as or younger than the Big Red duo.
 
SIEVE! SIEVE! SIEVE! 
• Of Cornell's 16 opponents so far this season, only three team's goalies – Penn State (.591), Princeton (.556) and Brown in the ILT (.667) – have managed to save more than 50 percent of shots faced.
• Yale's .125 save percentage in the Ivy League Tournament is the lowest of the season for a Big Red opponent.
• For the season, Big Red opponents have managed to save just 37.7 percent of shots faced. 
• Since opponent save percentage started being recorded in 1977, Cornell's opponents have saved fewer than 45 percent of shots faced just once (2013; .435 percent).
 
TEAT BY THE NUMBERS: So far this season Jeff Teat is averaging …
• 5.7 points per game vs. nationally ranked opponents.
• 6.2 points per game vs. Ivy League opponents.
• 6.6 points per game in Big Red wins decided by five or fewer goals.
• 6.9 points per game in Cornell wins decided by six or more goals.
• 3.8 points per game in Big Red losses.
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT GAMES: With his 10 points vs. Brown on April 21, Jeff Teat matched the Cornell record held by Mike French '76, with five double-digit games.
• Of his five 10+ point games, two have come against nationally ranked teams, and three have come against Ivy opponents.
12 – Jeff Teat vs. Harvard (4/7/2018)     
12 – Jeff Teat vs. No. 16 Princeton (4/29/2017)                
11 – Jeff Teat vs. No. 13 Virginia (3/11/2017)
10 – Jeff Teat vs. Hobart (2/24/2018)
10 – Jeff Teat vs. Brown (4/21/2018)
 
100-POINT: With his four points vs. Yale in the Ivy League Tournament, junior Clarke Petterson became the 43rd player in Cornell history to register 100 career points.
 
50-50 POINT SCORERS:
• Clarke Petterson (56) and Jeff Teat (96) are just the 16th pair of Cornell teammates to each register 50 points in a season.
• The last set to reach 50 in a season was Connor Buczek '15 and Matt Donovan '15 in 2015.
• Cornell has not had a pair of 60-60 scorers since Rob Pannell (102) and Steve Mock (70) in 2013.
 
90-POINT PERFORMANCE: With his three points vs. Brown in the Ivy League Tournament, Jeff Teat amassed 90 points for the 2018 season, becoming just the eighth Big Red player to finish a season with 90+ points.
• Cornell's last 90+ point scorer was Rob Pannell with 102 points in 2013.
 
TWO 70-POINT SEASONS: Jeff Teat has amassed more than 70 points for the second consecutive season.
• He is just the fourth player in Big Red history to put together at least two 70-point seasons in a career, joining Mike French '76, Eamon McEneaney '77, and Rob Pannell '13. 

THE 30-30 CLUB: For the second consecutive season, Jeff Teat has posted 30 goals and 30 assists.
• Only three other Big Red players – Mike French '76, Eamon McEneany '77 and Rob Pannell '13 – have tallied at least 30 goals and 30 assists in a season twice in their career, with French reaching the mark three times.
• Including Teat's performance in 2017 and 2018 there have been just 13 seasons in Cornell history with a 30-30 performer.
 
THE PETTERSON-TEAT CONNECTION:
• Clarke Petterson and Jeff Teat both attended The Hill Academy.
• Of Petterson's 87 points since the 2017 season, 38 have involved Teat.
• Teat has assisted on 22 of Petterson's 53 goals since 2017.
• Of Petterson's 36 assists since 2017, 16 have come on goals by Teat.
 
MOVING ON UP IN CORNELL HISTORY:
• Christian Knight ranks fifth in career saves (585) … He needs four more to move into fourth place.
• Knight ranks seventh in career wins (29) … He needs one more to move into sixth place.
• Jeff Teat ranks fifth in career assists (98) … He needs just eight more to move into fourth place.
• Jeff Teat ranks eighth in career points (168) … He needs just two more to move in to seventh place.
• Paul Rasimowicz ranks ninth in career faceoffs won (250) … He needs just 45 to move into eighth place.
• Jake Pulver ranks eight in career caused turnovers (36) … He needs seven more to move into seventh place.
 
SEASON MARKS
• Jeff Teat ranks fourth in Cornell history for assists in a single season (59) and needs just three more to surpass Eamon McEneaney in third place (61 assists in 1976).
• Teat ranks fifth in single-season points (96) and needs just two more to surpass Mike French in fourth places (97 in 1975).  
• Paul Rasimowicz sits just outside the top 10 for season faceoffs won (140) … He needs just 13 to move into 10th place.
 
RANKED OPPONENTS
• Of the Big Red's 16 opponents this season, four were ranked in the final USILA Coaches' Poll of the season – Yale (first), Albany (fifth), Syracuse (13th), and Penn State (19th).
• Three other opponents – Lehigh, Penn, and Princeton – are receiving votes.
• Cornell is 5-2 this season vs. ranked opponents.
• The five wins over nationally ranked opponents is the most for Cornell since 2013.
 
USILA PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST: Jeff Teat has been named to the USILA Player of the Year Watch List
• Of the 17 players to make the cut, Teat is one of three Ivy League selections and one of just five sophomores on the list.
• The Ivy League joins the ACC, the Big East, and the Big Ten with three selections apiece, but is the only conference to have the three players come from three different institutions.  
 
TEWAARATON NOMINEE: Jeff Teat has been named one of 25 nominees for the 2018 Tewaaraton Award.
• Teat and Jake McCulloch were both named to the Tewaaraton Watch List.
• Cornell has not had player make the official list of nominees since Connor Buczek '15 and Matt Donovan '15 made the list during the 2015 season, ending a streak of 11 consecutive seasons with at least one player making the final 25.
• The Big Red men's lacrosse program has produced two Tewaaraton Trophy winners – Max Seibald in 2008 and Rob Pannell in 2013. 
 
PULVER'S GOT SENIOR CLASS
• Jake Pulver has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate lacrosse.
• To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
• Cornell has had three Senior CLASS award winners – Matt McMonagle '07, Max Seibald '09, and Connor Buczek '15.
 
BACK IN THE RANKINGS AGAIN
• The Big Red entered the week of April 16 ranked eighth in the USILA Coaches Poll, its first top 10 ranking since April 27, 2015.
• Cornell's inclusion in the March 26 USILA Coaches Poll (No. 14) ended a 29-week streak in which the Big Red was out of the poll, the longest stretch in school history.
• The Big Red was last ranked at No. 15 on Feb. 15, 2016.
• The Cornell program has had just two other significant ranking droughts in program history – 26 weeks from mid-March 1996 until the first week of the 1999 season and 21 weeks from late March 1993 until April 29, 1995.
 
TEAT'S CAREER DAY: Cornell sophomore Jeff Teat had a career day vs. Harvard on April 7, having a hand in 12 of the Big Red's 15 goals.
• Teat's 12 points on the day matched a career high and ranks third all-time in Cornell history for points in a single-game.
• His eight assists set a personal-best and ranks fourth in Big Red history for assists in a single-game.
• The eight assists were the most by a Cornell player since Andrew Collins handed out eight helpers vs. Yale in 2003. 
 
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST:
• Earlier this season, Cornell scored 20+ goals in three consecutive games (Penn – 20; Air Force – 23; Dartmouth – 22) for the first time in program history.
• The Big Red's 65 goals in that span came on 87 shots on goal (.747 percent).
• Cornell assisted on 48 of the 65 goals (.738).
• Of the 65 goals, 38 came from the midfield, with 27 from the attack.
• With 65 goals on 113 possessions, the Big Red averaged just over one goal on every other possession during the streak (.575 percent). 
 
MIDSEASON MARK
• Jeff Teat and Christian Knight have been named to the Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-American teams.
• Teat was a second-team selection, while Knight was a third-team honoree.
 
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
• Cornell has traditionally been very successful against collegiate teams from New York state, posting an all-time record of 290-167-7 (.633).
• The Big Red has five New York teams on its schedule this season – Colgate, Hobart, Albany, Binghamton, and Syracuse – and is 3-2 so far.
 
WIN NUMBER 750
• Cornell picked up the 750th win in program history when it defeated Air Force, 23-5 on March 27.
• The Big Red is one of just seven NCAA Division I men's lacrosse programs to boast at least 750 wins.
 
FASTEST TO 100:
• With 100 points in 18 career games, Jeff Teat scored 100 career points faster than any other four-year player in Cornell or Ivy League history.
• In NCAA history, the 18 games matches Tim Nelson (NC State/SU), who also did it in 18 games from 1982-83.
• Rob Pannell tallied his 100th career point in his 25th career game with the Big Red during his sophomore season in 2010.
• Michael French '76 (16 games) and Eamon McEneaney '77 (19 games) registered their 100th career point in fewer games than Pannell, but due to NCAA rules that prohibited freshmen from playing varsity sports, both accomplished the feat in their junior season.
• Teat is the 42nd player in Cornell history to amass 100 career points.
 
ROSTER SUPERLATIVES: Cornell's 49-man roster is the largest since the program carried a jayvee team in the mid-1980s, surpassing the 47-man roster of the 2008 season. 
 
ELITE COMPANY
• Over the past 10 seasons (2008-2017) only 10 schools have registered 100 victories – Duke (147), Syracuse (134), Denver (122), Maryland (128), Notre Dame (118), UVA (112), North Carolina (110), Loyola (108), Cornell (105), and Hopkins (100).
• During that span, only nine teams have won at least 65 percent of its games – Syracuse (.788), Duke (.754), Notre Dame (.742), Maryland (.736), Denver (.728), Loyola (.692), UVA (.683), Cornell (.673), and UNC (.671).
 
BIG RED INTERNATIONAL
• Three former Big Red players – Rob Pannell (USA), Max Seibald (Israel), and Mat Martinez (Puerto Rico) – have already been selected to participate in the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's Lacrosse World Championship, scheduled for this July in Netanya, Israel.
• Two other alumni – Brennan Donville and Jason Noble – and current player Jeff Teat are still on the training roster for Team Canada.
• Cornell senior Kason Tarbell is on the training team for the Iroquois Nationals.
 
MILLIMAN TABBED TO ASSIST TEAM USA: Interim Head Coach Peter Milliman has been named an assistant coach for the 2019 U.S. men's national indoor team. The team will be led by Regy Thorpe (Syracuse University), who will guide the team in pursuit of a gold medal at the 2019 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Indoor Lacrosse Championship (WILC), Sept. 19-28, 2019, in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN:  Sophomore attackman Jeff Teat was named a preseason second-team All-American by Inside Lacrosse Magazine.
 
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN:  The Big Red has four captains this season – seniors Jordan Dowiak, Christian Knight, Jake Pulver, and junior Clarke Petterson.
 
HARD HAT: Clarke Petterson was selected to carry the Hard Hat for the 2018 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.