UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Advantage and adversity. The Cornell men's lacrosse faced and overcame both, picking up a 16-15 shootout win at Penn State on Saturday afternoon at Holuba Hall. Fourth-ranked Cornell remained unbeaten at 5-0, while the Nittany Lions fell to 2-5.

Aidan Blake scored with 1:52 remaining and the Big Red defense forced a turnover after Penn State won the ensuing face-off and ran out the clock for its 10th consecutive victory dating back to the 2020 season. The win was also Cornell's seventh straight on the road and gave the Big Red a 23-22 lead in the all-time series.

Cornell scored the game's first six goals, watched as Penn State scored eight of the next nine to take a lead at halftime, recovered with a 6-1 run to push its edge back to four only to have the Nittany Lions tie it at 14-14 and 15-15 to set up the late winner.

Matt Licciardi's third assist of the afternoon found Blake for his 10th score of the year. Licciardi added a goal for a four-point day, one of five different players to score at least three points. John Piatelli scored the game's first three goals of the day and five on the day, while Michael Long had four goals and an assist and CJ Kirst notched two goals and two assists. Blake had a goal and two helpers and Billy Coyle rounded out the multiple-point scorers with a goal and an assist. Cornell held a 51-45 advantage in shots and a 41-35 lead in ground balls, causing eight turnovers.

Chayse Ierlan made 11 saves in goal for the Big Red, while Angelo Petrakis won 14-of-28 face-offs with eight ground balls. Gavin Adler caused a pair of turnovers and won six ground balls to spearhead the defense.

Penn State got three goals and two assists from Ethan Long and a hat trick from Jeb Brenfleck. Dean Reaume had a goal and three assists. Hudson Bohn won 19-of-34 face-offs with 11 ground balls to give the Nittany Lions extra possessions.

Christopher Davis poked the ball away from Penn State with just over a minute remaining and Harrison Bardwell covered up for the loose ball with a quick clear and successive timeouts allowing the Big Red to run out the clock after Blake's go-ahead score. It ended a game full of runs, big plays, highlight saves and high level play.

In a game that was moved indoors due to expected precipitation, both teams weathered the storms of runs. Both teams were able to regain their composure once on their heels, with the Big Red getting the last chance.

After Luke Mercer's goal with 5:32 tied it for Penn State at 15-15, Cornell won the face-off, but Cornell's first two possessions ended with Piatelli shooting on a game Aleric Fyock for two of his 16 stops on the day. The Big Red defense forced turnovers on both of Penn State's possessions, with Gavin Adler winning the ball with with 2:30 to play to set up what would be the go-ahead score.
 

UP NEXT

• Cornell opens Ivy League play against preseason conference favorite and 14th-ranked Yale on Saturday, March 19 at 12 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. 
• The Big Red leads the all-time series 52-28-1, though the Bulldogs have won five of the past six matchups between the teams.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.