ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell scored five straight goals to take the lead and six more in a row to create enough space to weather a late Hobart run, topping the unbeaten Statesmen 15-12 on Tuesday evening at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red improved to 3-0, while Hobart slipped to 2-1 with the loss.

Billy Coyle had four goals and an assist and Hugh Kelleher and CJ Kirst chipped in three goals and an assist each as the Big Red offense was humming over the final three quarters after being held scoreless over the first 15 minutes. Goalkeeper Chayse Ierlan kept the Big Red in it, making seven first half saves and 10 for the game, as Hobart took a 2-0 lead and twice had two-goal advantages in the first half. Angelo Petrakis more than held his own against Hobart face-off man Adam Shea, winning 17-of-28 starts with 11 ground balls. Cornell out-shot the Statesmen 51-38, including pouring on 20 shots in the third quarter alone, The Big Red defense caused 10 turnovers, forced seven failed Hobart clears and won 38 ground balls in the victory.

John Herlihy scored four goals and was credited with an assist, with a natural hat trick and an assist over just 4:20 in the fourth as the Statesmen made a run at closing the gap, ending the contest on a 5-0 run. Ryan Archer had two goals and an assist and both Bradley Simas and Derrek Madonna netted two goals. Kevin Holtby made 13 saves, including seven in the decisive third quarter to keep Hobart from falling even further behind.


Hobart seemingly dominated the first quarter, but four saves from Ierlan kept the deficit at two after 15 minutes. Cornell's nine first quarter turnovers and 13 in the first half allowed the unbeaten Statesmen to control tempo. The Big Red tied the game in the second after CJ Kirst scored twice within 11 seconds and Aiden Blake took a feed from John Piatelli to knot the game at 3-3. Consecutive goals by Hobart brought the lead back to two, but Kirst completed the hat trick with a goal with just 10 seconds remaining before halftime to make it a one-score lead at the break.

The next 20 minutes was the Big Red at its finest. The Big Red scored 10 goals during that span, turning a one-goal deficit into a seven-goal advantage. Cornell was able to play make-it, take-it during a long stretch of the second half, particularly during the runs. Petrakis won 12-of-18 second half face-off attempts and the offense did the rest. The few times Hobart did end up with the ball, it got little going on offense - until the final nine minutes.

Hobart scored five times over the span of 4:52 and put some pressure on the home team in the final minutes, but Cornell won possession and was able to run out much of the final 3:17, surrendering the ball for just 14 seconds and winning back a turnover with its ride to clinch the victory in the 139th meeting between the schools dating back to 1898.
 

UP NEXT

• The Big Red will battle with #8 Ohio State on Saturday, March 5 at 12 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 3-2 and has won two straight meetings.