GAME INFORMATION

#12 Army West Point vs. #4 Cornell
DATE/TIME: Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 3 p.m.
SITE: Schoellkopf Field – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Army West Point 9-2, 5-1 Patriot League / Cornell 10-1, 3-1 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) (https://whcuradio.com/)
STATS: CornellBigRed.com
GAME NOTES
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell men's lacrosse team will attempt to clinch a perfect non-conference slate when it welcomes Army West Point on Saturday, April 16 at 3 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The contest will be televised on ESPN+ and will air live on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM with Jason Weinstein on the call.
• The Big Red is off to a strong 10-1 start and is up to No. 4 in the latest USILA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse Media polls.
• Cornell enters the game with a 13-game non-conference win streak dating back to 2019 that includes wins over Notre Dame, Albany (twice), Ohio State (twice), Penn State (twice) and Syracuse.
• On offense, a pair of Tewaaraton Trophy candidates pace an offense averaging 13.7 goals per contest.
• Senior John Piatelli leads the team in goals (40) and ranks among the school's top 10 career goal scorers with 121, eighth on the school's all-time list.
• Two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Year CJ Kirst paces the team in assists (20) and points (54), while ranking second in goals (34) and third in ground balls (31).
• Inside Lacrosse midseason first-team All-American Gavin Adler has been sensational with the long stick, causing 13 turnovers and winning 32 ground balls.
• A veteran defense featuring senior Ian Jacobs (nine caused turnovers, 24 ground balls), fifth-year seniors Joseph Bartolotto III (16 caused turnovers, 19 ground balls), Dom Doria (eight caused turnovers, 18 ground balls) and graduate student Harrison Bardwell (six caused turnovers, 27 ground balls) surrenders just 10.7 goals per game.
• In goal, Chayse Ierlan ranks 13th nationally in goals against average (10.61 GAA) and has at least 10 saves in eight of his past 10 games.
• Face-off specialist Angelo Petrakis is winning 49 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 65 ground balls.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• On the road. In the Dome. Down six goals. Two days rest.
• Seniors don't make excuses. The Cornell men's lacrosse team doesn't make excuses.
• The Big Red scored the tying goal with 24 seconds left in regulation, then again 1:12 into overtime, for a wild 16-15 win at the Carrier Dome. 
• Hugh Kelleher knotted the game at 12-12 after Cornell trailed by as many as six (10-4) late in the second quarter, then scored on a low shot that beat the Orange goalkeeper and sent the Big Red rushing on to the field in celebration.
• Kelleher was one of many heroes for Cornell in a game that lived up to the yearly hype of the Cornell-Syracuse series. 
• John Piatelli had six goals and three assists, CJ Kirst (two goals, three assists) and Billy Coyle (three goals, two assists) each had five points and Michael Long scored four to lead the offense. 
• The face-off unit won 18-of-34 face-offs against an Orange team that was winning draws at 59 percent. 
• Danny Boccafola and Harrison Bardwell each won three ground balls and Wyatt Knust came off the bench to make eight saves in goal and provided a spark for the visitors. 
• The defense, shredded for nine goals in the game's first 20:11, surrendered just six over the final 41:01. 
 

THE SERIES VS. ARMY WEST POINT

First Meeting: 1938
Overall: Army West Point leads, 24-15 (Cornell 9-8 in Ithaca)
In Overtime: Cornell leads 2-0
Current Streak: Cornell, 1 game
Last Meeting: Cornell, 18-7 (3/3/2012 in Ithaca)
Longest Cornell streak: 7 games; Longest AWP streak: 16 games
Series vs. Army West Point: The two teams first met on the lacrosse field in 1938, making the Black Knights one of Cornell's oldest rivals. 
• Cornell has won 7-of-8 meetings since 2006, including two Big Red victories in 2010 with a victory in the regular season and an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game.
• The Big Red also won all seven meetings between 1971-91.
• The Black Knights won the first 15 contests between the programs with 10 coming in West Point.
 

A WIN OVER ARMY WEST POINT WOULD

• Give Cornell an 11-1 record.
• Narrow Army West Point's lead in the all-time series to 24-16.
• Extend the Big Red's non-conference win streak to 14 contests.
• Increase its win streak to five games
• Be the 781st win in program history (780-488-27, .613).
 

SCOUTING ARMY WEST POINT

• Attackman Brendan Nichtern (28-40-68) quarterbacks an offense averaging 14.4 goals per game and averages 6.2 points per contest.
• Reese Burek (18-14-32), Bobby Abshire (19-7-26), Paul Johnson (18-8-26) and Jacob Morin (19-2-21) have all posted at least 20 points this season.
• Face-off specialist Will Coletti is winning 56 percent of his starts with a team-best 56 ground balls.
• Seven different players have at least five caused turnovers, with Deacon Donaldson leading the way with 10.
• Wyatt Schupler is 9-2 between the pipes with a 10.69 goals against average and a .556 save percentage while making 12.6 stops per contest.
• Black Knights' head coach Joe Alberici is in his 17th season directing the program and has led the team to a pair of Patriot League titles.
• Associate head coach Kyle Georgalas '05 is a former Big Red captain and assistant coach.
 

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH

• Connor Buczek '15 (10-1) 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.
 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• Senior John Piatelli enters the weekend with 121 goals and 166 points — he needs two goals to move up to seventh in career goals and seven to reach sixth, as well as two more points to hit the top 10 in that category.
• With 315 saves, senior Chayse Ierlan needs 30 more saves to reach the school's top 10 chart.
• Dating back to 2020, Cornell is 15-1 over its past 16 games, including an impressive 10-1 away from home.
• Cornell is 4-0 when it wins faceoffs and has won 15 consecutive games when it holds the edge at the circle.
• The Big Red has won 22 consecutive games when holding opponents under 10 goals with its last loss coming in a 7-6 defeat at Princeton to close out the 2016 campaign.
 

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.
 

THIS IS OUR HOUSE

• Cornell has enjoyed a true home field advantage since beginning play on Schoellkopf Field in 1972, going 247-85 for a .744 winning percentage, with 12 undefeated seasons.
• Cornell has been even more impressive since 2000, going 107-30 overall (.781) with perfect slates in 2015 (6-0), 2011 (8-0), 2009 (6-0), 2007 (7-0) and 2005 (6-0).
 

UP NEXT

• With non-conference play complete, the Big Red will play its final two games of Ivy competition beginning when it hosts No. 20 Brown on Saturday, April 23 at 12 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Big Red leads the all-time series 39-21, including three straight wins by a 38-18 margin.