HAMILTON, N.Y. -- The attack tandem of John Piatelli and CJ Kirst combined for 12 goals and 17 total points as seventh-ranked Cornell topped Central New York rival Colgate 16-9 on Tuesday evening at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium. The Big Red improved to 7-1, while the Raiders slipped to 2-6.

Piatelli had six goals and three assists, with his nine points giving him 150 for his career. Kirst had six goals and two assists, with his eight points giving him 41 in his rookie campaign. Together, along with Michael Long's five-point effort (two goals, three assists), the Big Red attack totally overwhelmed the Raiders. Angelo Petrakis won 12 face-offs with seven ground balls and Chayse Ierlan made 12 saves as the last line of defense as Cornell rebounded from its first loss of the year in fine fashion.

Brian Minicus led Colgate with two goals and three assists, with brother Michael scoring two goals. He was matched by Marshall Terres with two scores. Thomas Colucci (8-of-16) and Brian Wilmans (6-of-9) combined to win 14-of-25 face-offs as Colgate was able to stay in the game for long stretches by controlling possessions.

In the end, the Big Red attack was too much.

Colgate got on the board first, but Cornell answered quickly and often with a 4-0 run over 4:24. The Raiders answered with two more goals, but Kirst responded with a natural hat trick and Piatelli scored his second to extend the lead to 8-3 late in the second. It would lead 8-4 at the break.

After trading goals to open the half, the Big Red went on its third 4-0 run of the day, this time in an explosive 3:23 of clock time to extend its lead to 13-5. Piatelli had four goals and an assist after the break to keep Cornell at arm's length the rest of the way.

Cornell held a 45-40 advantage in shots and forced eight turnovers on Colgate clears while taking advantage of special teams, holding the Raiders to 0-for-4 on extra-man opportunities. The win extended the Big Red's non-conference win streak to 12 games.
 

UP NEXT

• Cornell returns to Ivy League competition when it visits Dartmouth on Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m. at Scully-Fahey Field.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 54-15 and has won nine in a row and 21 of the past 22 meetings between the programs.