BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Cornell defense held Lehigh at bay all day, and when they did break out, Chayse Ierlan was there to shut the door.

The Big Red defense caused eight turnovers and won 35 ground balls with Ierlan stopping 15 shots in goal as Cornell improved to 2-0 on the season with a 9-5 win over Lehigh on Saturday afternoon at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The Mountain Hawks fell to 1-2 with the loss.

CJ Kirst had two goals and an assist, both John Piatelli and Aiden Blake tallied twice and Spencer Wirtheim was credited with two assists for the Big Red offense.

Lehigh got on the board first just 1:16 into the contest on the man-up, but Cornell scored the next four and never trailed. The Mountain Hawks cut a three-goal lead to one at 6-5 with 8:17 to play, but Blake found the back of the net twice in the span of 23 seconds and Cornell pulled back to a comfortable advantage.

Ierlan's seven saves in a scoreless third quarter was likely the difference as the visitors entered the final stanza with the same 5-3 advantage it took into halftime.

Angelo Petrakis won 8-of-16 faceoffs for the Big Red, while Bartolotto caused three turnovers and won two ground balls.

Scott Cole scored three times for Lehigh, with Mike Sisselberger winning 10-of-18 faceoffs and capturing eight ground balls. James Spence was credited with 11 saves in front of a defense that caused 11 turnovers against the high-octane Big Red offense.
 

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.