ITHACA, N.Y. - The #12 Cornell men's lacrosse team will look to post a 2-0 start to the year for the third-straight season when it faces its first road test of the 2022 campaign at Lehigh on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa.

GAME INFORMATION:

#12 Cornell at Lehigh
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 at 1 p.m.
SITE: Ulrich Sports Complex – Bethlehem, Pa.
RECORDS: Cornell 1-0, 0-0 Ivy League / Lehigh 1-1, 0-0 Patriot League
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3vbYhxS)
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) (https://whcuradio.com/)
STATS: lehighsports.com (bit.ly/3vex7Gt)   
SPECTATOR POLICY
GAME NOTES

STORY LINES:

• Playing for the first time in 713 days, the Cornell men's lacrosse team didn't skip a beat, defeating UAlbany in its season opener, 16-8, on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y.
• The victory over the Great Danes was the first career win for head coach Connor Buczek '15, who is in his first season (second year) at the helm of the Big Red program.
• Sophomore CJ Kirst led the Big Red in the win, scoring a game-high seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) in his collegiate debut.
• For his efforts, Kirst was named the Ivy League's first Ivy League Rookie of the Week of the 2022 season, also earning a spot on the USILA Team of the Week.
• Looking ahead to Lehigh, Cornell has won seven in a row against the Mountain Hawks, as Lehigh has not defeated the Big Red since 1916.
• Saturday's contest will not only be a battle between Cornell and Lehigh, but it will be a battle of the Kirsts, as CJ Kirst's brother, Cole Kirst, is a senior attackman for the Mountain Hawks. 

LAST TIME OUT:

• Cornell used a dominant start and an even stronger finish to defeat UAlbany, 16-8, scoring the game's first five goals and seven of the final eight to double up the Great Danes.
• Six different players recorded multi-point efforts in the win. In addition to Kirst's seven points, junior midfielder Aiden Blake recorded his first career hat trick, scoring four goals and adding an assist for five points.
• John Piatelli had two goals and two assists and Billy Coyle, Hugh Kelleher, and Michael Long were each credited with two goals and an assist.
• Cornell held the Great Danes scoreless for just under 22 minutes of action spanning the second half of the third quarter and nearly the entirety of the fourth.
• On defense, Dom Doria made his presence known, posting four of the team's seven caused turnovers and adding three ground balls.

THE SERIES VS. LEHIGH:

• Lehigh is the first collegiate opponent ever faced by the Big Red,as the teams met in the season opener of the 1893 season, the second year in Cornell men's lacrosse history.
• The Big Red and Mountain Hawks shared a pair of Intercollegiate Championships in 1914 and 1916, but have faced off just five times since the 1955 season.
• The initial meeting in 1893 was won by the Mountain Hawks, 5-0, which began a 7-0 run for Lehigh.
• The Mountain Hawks own the lead in the all-time series 9-8-3, but the Big Red is riding a seven-game winning streak, earning victories in 1954, 1955, 2006, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
• After finding itself in an early 5-0 deficit just over seven minutes into the game, the Big Red scored the final seven goals of the contest to complete an impressive comeback, defeating the Mountain Hawks, 14-9, the last time the two teams met on Feb. 24, 2019 at Schoellkopf Field.

A WIN OVER LEHIGH WOULD:

• Give Cornell a 2-0 start to the season for the third-straight season.
• Be the eighth in a row vs. the Mountain Hawks.
• Be the third in a row vs. the Patriot League
• Even the all-time series between the two teams to 9-9-3.

SCOUTING LEHIGH:

• Lehigh heads into Saturday's contest with a 1-1 record, having defeated NJIT, 10-5, in its season opener, before falling to Hobart, 14-13, in its most recent outing on Feb. 19.
• With the Mountain Hawks leading by one, 9-8, with a minute left in the third quarter, Hobart used a 6-1 run to claim a 14-10 advantage. Lehigh almost completed the comeback attempt in the final five minutes of regulation, but fell just short.
• Lehigh's faceoff specialist, Mike Sisselberger, will be one to watch, as he was named a first team preseason All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine, Inside Lacrosse, and the USILA, as well as earning a spot on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
• The Mountain Hawks were picked to finish second in the Patriot League this season, with Sisselberger, Teddy Leggett, and Tommy Schelling earning spots on the preseason All-League Team.
• Leggett also garnered Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media All-America honorable mention recognition.

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH:

• Connor Buczek '15 (1-0) kicks off his first season (second year) at the helm of the Cornell men's lacross program.
• He was elevated to the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse in the spring of 2020 after five seasons on staff in the capacities of volunteer assistant coach for two years and assistant coach for three.
• His first year in the head coaching role saw the 2021 season get canceled due to COVID-19 and have to navigate his team through the challenges of having the season eliminated due to the pandemic.
• He has served as the offensive coordinator since 2018, and his duties have also included working with the goalies.
• He has helped turn the Big Red offense into one of the most potent units in the country, as Cornell has finished each of its last two seasons ranked among the top-five nationally in shooting percentage, assists per game, shots per game, and goals per game.
• Buczek was a decorated student-athlete during his playing days at Cornell, being named a three-time All-American and unanimous first team All-Ivy selection, among various other awards.

PLENTIFUL PRESEASON FOR PIATELLI:

• Although he hasn't taken the field since 2020, senior attackman John Piatelli remains among the top players in Division I, earning a spot on the Tewaaraton Watch List and being named Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media All-America honorable mention in advance of the 2022 campaign.
• The preseason accolades for Piatelli come after he received All-America honorable mention honors from Inside Lacrosse the last time the Big Red took the field in 2020.
• A two-time team captain for Cornell, including for the upcoming season, Piatelli has led Cornell in goals in each of the last two seasons in which the Big Red has competed, finishing the 2019 campaign ranked in the top-25 in the nation in individual man-up goals (10th – 7), goals per game (13th – 3.00), shooting percentage (14th - .459), and points per game (22nd – 4.27).
• Through five games in 2020, he ranked fourth in all of Division I in goals per game (4.00).

MEET THE CAPTAINS:

• Joseph Bartolotto III '22, John Piatelli '22, and Chayse Ierlan '22 will serve as the Big Red's captains for the 2022 campaign.
• This marks the second time Bartolotto and Piatelli have been elected captains, having also done so in 2021, while it's Ierlan's first time steering the ship.

2020 INSIDE LACROSSE MEDIA ALL-AMERICANS:

• Cornell returns a pair of student-athletes who donned Inside Lacrosse/Maverik Media All-America honorable mention recognition at the conclusion of the abbreviated 2020 campaign in senior attackman John Piatelli and senior defenseman Gavin Adler.

WHAT SEEMS LIKE EONS AGO:

• The last time Cornell took the field in 2020, the Big Red was off to an impressive 5-0 start, having just downed #2 Penn State, 18-17, when the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• With the victory, Cornell shot all the way up to #2 in the USILA Coaches' and Inside Lacrosse/Maverik Media Polls, marking the team's highest USILA ranking since 2014.
• Cornell wasted no time putting its high-octane offense on display that season, as the Big Red finished the year ranked first in the nation in shot percentage (.404), second in scoring offense (18.40) and assists per game (10.40), and third in points per game (28.80). 
• The Big Red has finished among the top-five of the nation in those statistical categories in each of its last two seasons.

A NEW AND FAMILIAR FACES:

• The juxtaposition on the Big Red roster between fifth-year seniors and graduate students who put their lives on hold for a year to finish out their Cornell lacrosse careers, combined with two full classes who have yet to see a lick of collegiate lacrosse 
action , makes for a one-of-a-kind roster.
• Seven Big Red players that were initially in the Class of 2021 elected to come back for the 2022 season, bringing the senior class to 17 members, along with two graduate students.
• On the other end of the spectrum, Cornell's 12 sophomores and seven freshmen will get their first taste of collegiate lacrosse this season, totaling 19 newcomers. Of the Big Red's 48-member roster, 20 will suit up for the Big Red for the first time in 2022. 
• The Big Red's roster breakdown is comprised of two graduate students, 17 seniors, 10 juniors, 12 sophomores, and seven freshmen.

DOTTING THE MAP:

• Cornell has six international players on the 2022 roster (five Canadians, one Australian).
• Tim Graham is the first Cornell men's lacrosse player to come from a foreign country other than Canada since John E. Beeby 
(Dersingham, Eng.), Thomas H. Beeby (Dersingham, Eng.) and John S. Roederer (Paris, France) all appeared on the 1961 roster.

FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER:

• Tim Graham is the first Australian to play men's lacrosse in the Ivy League. 
• Graham became just the eighth Australian to play Division I men's lacrosse, and the first since Adam Sear (Yokin) and James Watson-Galbraith (Perth) played for Maryland and UMBC, respectively, during the 2010 season.

THIS IS OUR HOUSE: 

• Cornell has enjoyed a true home field advantage since beginning play on Schoellkopf Field in 1972, going 246-85 for a .742 winning percentage, with 12 undefeated seasons.
• Cornell has been even more impressive since 2000, going 106-30 overall (.782) with perfect slates in 2015 (6-0), 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0).

UP NEXT:

• The #12 Cornell men's lacrosse team will open a stretch that sees the Big Red play three of its next four games at Schoellkopf Field, starting with a midweek matchup against Hobart on Tuesday, March 1 at 5 p.m. in Ithaca, N.Y.
• A battle with #8 Ohio State will follow on Saturday, March 5 at 12 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.