ITHACA, N.Y. - Two regular Ivy League powers will square off in the conference opener when No. 3 Cornell welcomes No. 11 Yale to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, March 19 at 12 p.m. Barry Leonard and Howie Borkan will broadcast live on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM.
 

GAME INFORMATION:

#11 Yale at #3 Cornell
DATE/TIME: Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 12 p.m.
SITE: Schoellkopf Field – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Yale 3-1, 0-0 Ivy League / Cornell 5-0, 0-0 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (jason Weinstein)
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) (https://whcuradio.com/)
STATS: CornellBigRed.com (https://bit.ly/3HtMTjs)   
GAME NOTES
 

STORY LINES:

• Two regular Ivy League powers will square off in the conference opener when No. 3 Cornell welcomes No. 11 Yale to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, March 19 at 12 p.m.
• Barry Leonard and Howie Borkan will broadcast live on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM.
• Cornell has won 12 titles in the last 18 seasons, while Yale has won two of the past three, advancing to the national finals in 2019 and winning the NCAA crown the year prior. 
• Cornell won its 10th straight game and its second consecutive over a Big Ten opponent with a wild 16-15 victory at Penn State last weekend.
• The Big Red is off to a strong 5-0 start, jumping to No. 3 in the latest USILA Coaches poll and No. 4 in the Inside Lacrosse Media poll.
• Cornell ranks 18th nationally in scoring defense (10.2 goals per game) and has allowed the lowest opponent clearing percentage in the country (.709).
• Fifth-year seniors Joseph Bartolotto III (nine caused turnovers, 11 ground balls) and Dom Doria (seven caused turnovers, seven ground balls) rank 1-2 on the team in caused turnovers with 16 between the two.
• In goal, Chayse Ierlan ranks in the top 20 nationally in goals against average (10.20 GAA) and has at least 10 saves in four consecutive games.
• On offense, two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Year CJ Kirst paces the team in goals (15), assists (nine) and points (24), while ranking second in ground balls (17).
• Tewaaraton Award candidate John Piatelli is tied for the lead in goals (15) and is averaging nearly four points per game.
• Face-off specialist Angelo Petrakis is winning 52 percent in the circle, including a 16-of-29 effort against the nation's top-ranked face-off unit in No. 5 Ohio State, and leads the team with 36 ground balls.
 

LAST TIME OUT:

• The Cornell men's lacrosse faced advantage and adversity and overcame both, picking up a 16-15 shootout win at Penn State at Holuba Hall. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• Chayse Ierlan made 11 saves in goal for the Big Red, while Angelo Petrakis won 14-of-28 face-offs with eight ground balls. 
• Penn State got three goals and two assists from Ethan Long and a hat trick from Jeb Brenfleck. 
 

THE SERIES VS. YALE:

First Meeting: 1916
Overall: Cornell leads, 52-28-1 (Cornell, 28-12 at home)
In Overtime: Yale leads, 3-2
Current Streak: Yale, 2 games
Longest Cornell Streak: 22 games; 
Longest Yale Streak: 9 games
Last Meeting: Yale, 15-10 (5/3/2019 in New York City)
Series vs. Yale: The Cornell and Yale rivalry began in 1916 with a 5-1 Big Red victory, and Cornell has dominated ever since. 
•  The Big Red holds a 52-28-1 record in the series, thanks in large part to 22 straight victories over the Bulldogs from 1966 to 1987. 
•  Cornell had a 14-game winning streak vs. Yale ended when the Bulldogs defeated the Big Red in the 2012 Ivy League tournament. 
•  The Big Red went on to win the next three meetings (2013-15) before dropping five of the last six to Yale.
 

A WIN OVER YALE WOULD:

• Give Cornell a 6-0 start for the first time since 2014 (9-0).
• Extend the program's win streak to 11 games overall — its last loss coming on May 5, 2019 against Yale in the Ivy League Tournament.
• Make head coach Connor Buczek the third head coach in Cornell history to begin a career 6-0, joining Ned Harkness (22-0) and Matt Kerwick (9-0).
• Give the Big Red a 53-28-1 lead in the all-time series.
• Extend its home win streak to six games.
• Be the 776th win in program history (775-487-27, .612).
 

SCOUTING YALE:

• No. 11 Yale is off to a 3-1 start and has won two straight with wins over UMass (13-12 in OT) and Denver (16-13).
• The Bulldogs' only loss was at Penn State, a 10-6 decision, in late February.
• Yale is averaging 13.0 goals per game despite being outshot by an average of nearly five per game (47.0-42.3) with Matt Brandau (15-8-23) leading the offense.
• Will Cabrera (8-4-12) and Leo Johnson (9-2-11) are also in double figure scoring.
• Nicholas Ramsey is winning 52 percent of his face-offs (45-of-86) with a team-best 20 ground balls, while Jack Stuzin (eight caused turnovers, 10 ground balls) paces the team in caused turnovers.
• Goalkeeper Jared Paquette is posting a 12.08 goals against average and with a .542 save percentage and is averaging 14.5 saves per contest.
• Head coach Andy Shay led the 2018 team to an NCAA title and the 2019 squad to a national runner-up finish.
• Yale is 38-9 since the 2018 season, including 16-2 in Ivy League competition.
 

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH:

• Connor Buczek '15 (5-0) is in his first season (second year) at the helm of the Cornell men's lacrosse 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 Big Red returns to the road for a contest at Ivy rival Penn on Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m. at the Palestra.
• The Quakers have won four of the last six meetings after Cornell won eight straight from 2007-14 and leads the all-time series 66-26-3.