ITHACA, N.Y. - The Cornell men's lacrosse team hopes the second of two early season tests against Big Ten foes produces the same result as the first, but this time on the road where it will face Penn State on Saturday, March 12 at 12 p.m. at Panzer Stadium Holuba Hall. Spectators will not be allowed and a live stream will not be available for this game.
 

GAME INFORMATION:

#4 Cornell at Penn State
DATE/TIME: Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 12 p.m.
SITE: Holuba Hall – University Park, Pa.
RECORDS: Cornell 4-0, 0-0 Ivy League / Penn State 2-4, 0-0 Big Ten
BROADCAST: N/A
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) (https://whcuradio.com/)
STATS: GoPSUSports.com (https://bit.ly/3hRgRDm)   
GAME NOTES
 

STORY LINES:

• The Cornell men's lacrosse team hopes the second of two early season tests against Big Ten foes produces the same result as the first, but this time on the road where it will face Penn State on Saturday, March 12 at 12 p.m. at Panzer Stadium Holuba Hall. Spectators will not be allowed and a live stream will not be available for this game.
• Barry Leonard will broadcast live on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM.
• Cornell remained unbeaten with its 14-11 triumph over No. 5 Ohio State this past weekend.
• The Big Red is off to a strong 4-0 start, jumping to No. 4 in the latest national poll after a pair of home victories last week — a 15-12 rivalry win over Hobart on Wednesday, followed by victory over the Buckeyes.
• Cornell ranks seventh nationally in scoring defense (9.0 goals per game) and has allowed the lowest opponent clearing percentage in the country (.682).
• In goal, Chayse Ierlan is seventh nationally in goals against average.
• On offense, two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Year CJ Kirst paces the team in goals (13), assists (seven) and points (20), while ranking second in ground balls (14).
• Face-off specialist Angelo Petrakis is winning 53 percent in the circle, including a solid 16-of-29 effort against the nation's top-ranked face-off unit in No. 5 Ohio State.
• This contest will lead off a stretch of four of the next five contests on the road.
• The Big Red will match up against former head coach Jeff Tambroni.  
• Tambroni served as head coach at Cornell for 10 seasons, going 109-40 with three trips to the Final Four and the 2009 NCAA championship game when he was named the USILA Division I Coach of the Year.
 

LAST TIME OUT:

• No. 9 Cornell scored the first seven goals of the second quarter after being shut out in the first and remained unbeaten with a 14-11 victory over No. 5 Ohio State at Schoellkopf Field. 
• Cornell dominated possession over much of the final three quarters, winning 16-of-29 face-offs against the nation's best face-off unit and forcing seven failed clears on the ride. 
• It limited Jack Myers, the nation's leading scorer at 7.5 points per game, to a lone goal. 
• The offense assisted on eight of its 14 scores and Chayse Ierlan made 11 saves at the back end of the defense to seal the win. 
• CJ Kirst had four goals and an assist, John Piatelli found the back of the net four times and Billy Coyle notched two goals and two assists.
• It was the effort at the face-off circle by Angelo Petrakis that allowed the Big Red to keep pace after falling behind the Buckeyes 3-0 after 15 minutes. 
• The junior won the first two restarts against Ohio State's Justin Inacio, who led the nation with a .776 face-off percentage entering the contest. 
• He won a majority of them cleanly, winning 12 ground balls.
 

THE SERIES VS. PENN STATE:

First Meeting: 1923
Overall: Series tied, 22-22 (9-9 in University Park)
In Overtime: N/A
In NCAA play: Have never met
Current Streak: Cornell, 1 game
Last Meeting: Cornell, 18-17 (3/8/2020 in Charlotte, N.C.)
Buczek vs. Penn State: 0-0
Series vs. Penn State: 
• Cornell and Penn State first met in the 1923 season and went on to play 36 times prior to 1961.
• The series took a 40-year hiatus before resuming in 2001 in what was an 8-7 victory for Penn State.
• Cornell bested the Nittany Lions in a shootout in the last meting between the teams, 18-17, in Charlotte, N.C.
• The past three meetings between the two schools have been in a neutral site setting.
 

A WIN OVER PENN STATE WOULD:

• Give Cornell a 5-0 start for the second consecutive season and the fourth time since 2013.
• Extend the program's win streak to 10 games overall — its last loss coming on May 5, 2019 against Yale in the Ivy League Tournament.
• Be the second consecutive victory by the Big Red over the Nittany Lions.
•Make head coach Connor Buczek the third head coach in Cornell history to begin a career 5-0, joining Ned Harkness (22-0) and Matt Kerwick (9-0).
• Break a tie in the all-time series, giving the Big Red a 23-22 edge.
• Extend its road win streak to seven games dating back to a 13-8 defeat at the hands of Syracuse on April 9, 2019.
 

SCOUTING PENN STATE:

• The Nittany Lions are 2-4 on the season, though one of the wins was a 10-6 victory over then-No. 5 Yale at home, with its last outing a narrow 10-9 decision to then-No. 6 Penn at the Crown Classic in Charlotte, N.C.
• Penn State is averaging 12.3 goals per contest and is assisting on nearly 60 percent of its scores this season.
• Jack Traynor (14-9-23) leads six players with at least 10 points so far this year, including Will Peden who has 18 points with 13 assists.
• Hudson Bohn has taken a majority of the face-offs, winning 46 percent with a team-high 26 ground balls.
• On defense, Brayden Peck has a team-best eight caused turnovers in front of goalkeeper Aleric Fyock, who has a 12.87 goals against average and a .527 save percentage while averaging 11.5 saves per outing.
 

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH:

• Connor Buczek '15 (4-0) 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:

• 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+.