SYRACUSE – The No. 11 Syracuse men's lacrosse team scored the first three goals of the game and then used stout defense to hold the Big Red at bay all evening as it defeated Cornell, 13-8, this evening in the Carrier Dome. The effort by the Orange spoiled an outstanding performance by Cornell freshman goalie, Chayse Ierlan, who made a career-high 17 saves in his Dome debut.
 
Cornell stayed within striking distance for the majority of the game, but could not maintain any momentum, as it failed to score back-to-back goals until the end of the contest, and was held to single digits for the first time this season.  
 
"I have to acknowledge how well Syracuse played," said Peter Milliman, The Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Lacrosse. "The really challenged us everywhere. They were tough defensively. They held slides as long as the needed to and they recovered really well. They picked up ground balls. They were disciplined and determined. They just outplayed us. They took the game away and they earned the victory." 
 
Sophomore John Piatelli led the offense with three goals, while Connor Fletcher (two goals), Clarke Petterson (two assists), Jeff Teat (two assists), Jake McCulloch (two assists) and Cooper Telesco (one goal, one assist) all finished with two points.
 
In front of Ierlan, the Big Red defense caused seven of Syracuse's 11 turnovers, with Brandon Salvatore registering two to move into fourth place all time with 59 caused turnovers for his career. Salvatore also picked up a team-high four ground balls.
 
Syracuse (7-3) got hat tricks from Bradley Voigt and Stephen Rehfuss, while Brendan Curry finished with two goals and one assist.
 
In goal, Drake Porter made 10 stops.
 
The Orange had the advantage in shots (49-31), shots on goal (30-18), face-offs (17-25) and ground balls (40-24). SU also had one fewer turnover (12-11) and converted 1-of-4 man-up chances, while holding Cornell scoreless on its one opportunity.
 
Cornell (7-4) has another tough test this week when it travels to South Bend to take on No. 12 Notre Dame at noon on Sunday, April 14.