GAME INFORMATION

#14 Brown vs. #8 Cornell
DATE/TIME: Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 12 p.m.
SITE: Schoellkopf Field – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Brown 7-4, 3-2 Ivy League / Cornell 10-2, 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 keep pace at the top of the Ivy League standings when it welcomes Brown to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, April 23 at 12 p.m. for Senior Day.
• The contest will be televised on ESPN+ with Jason Weinstein broadcasting, as well as live on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM with Barry Leonard and Tom LaFalce on the call.
• The Big Red is off to a strong 10-2 start and stands No. 8 in the latest USILA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse Media polls.
• Cornell will attempt to pick itself up after its first non-conference loss since 2019 after falling to No. 14 Army West Point 17-10 on Saturday at home in a game that saw the visitors go up 7-0.
• On offense, a pair of Tewaaraton Trophy candidates pace an offense averaging 13.4 goals per contest.
• Senior John Piatelli leads the team in goals (41) and ranks among the school's top 10 career goal scorers with 122, eighth on the school's all-time list.
• Three-time Ivy League Rookie of the Year CJ Kirst paces the team in assists (21) and points (58), while ranking second in goals (37) and third in ground balls (32).
• Inside Lacrosse midseason first-team All-American Gavin Adler has been sensational with the long stick, causing 15 turnovers and winning 34 ground balls.
• A veteran defense featuring senior Ian Jacobs (nine caused turnovers, 26 ground balls), fifth-year seniors Joseph Bartolotto III (18 caused turnovers, 20 ground balls), Dom Doria (nine caused turnovers, 20 ground balls) and graduate student Harrison Bardwell (eight caused turnovers, 31 ground balls) surrenders 11.3 goals per game.
• In goal, Chayse Ierlan ranks 27th nationally in goals against average (10.99 GAA) and has at least 10 saves in eight of his past 11 games.
• Face-off specialist Angelo Petrakis is winning 48 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 67 ground balls.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• Army West Point scored the game's first seven goals and never let Cornell back into the game as the 12th-ranked Black Knights topped the fourth-ranked Big Red 17-10 at Schoellkopf Field. 
• The high-powered Black Knights' offense, averaging 14.4 goals per game, netted 17 in the first 49 minutes with six different players scoring at least two. 
• Ryan Sposito, grandson of legendary Cornell head coach Richie Moran, scored three times and both Brendan Nichtern and Paul Johnson were credited with two goals and two assists. 
• Will Coletti controlled the face-off circle, winning 19-of-28 with 17 ground balls and goalkeeper Wyatt Schupler made 12 saves in picking up the victory.
• CJ Kirst scored three goals and added an assist to lead the Big Red offense, while Billy Coyle had two goals and an assist and Alex Holmes scored twice. 
• Gavin Adler, Harrison Bardwell and Joseph Bartolotto III each caused three turnovers and Chayse Ierlan (six saves) and Wyatt Knust (five saves) combined for 11 stops in goal for the home team.
• Army West Point held a 44-36 edge in shots, a 37-30 advantage in ground balls and enjoyed a 20-of-31 day in the face-off circle.
 

THE SERIES VS. BROWN

First Meeting: 1964
Overall: Cornell leads, 39-21 (22-8 in Ithaca)
In Overtime: Series tied 2-2
Current Streak: Cornell, 3 games
Last Meeting: Cornell, 12-9 (4/20/2019 in Providence, R.I.)
Longest Cornell streak: 9 games; Longest Brown streak: 8 games
Series vs. Brown: The Cornell/Brown rivalry began when the Bears joined the Ivy League in men's lacrosse in 1964.
• The Big Red earned an 8-7 victory in that first meeting, and won 23 of the first 28 games between the two programs.
• The Bears won eight-straight from 1991 to 1997 to gain some ground in the series, which Cornell leads, 38-21.
• Since snapping that Brown winning streak with a 6-5 decision in 1998, the series has been very tight, with Cornell holding a 16-8 edge, but of the last 24 meetings, more than half (13) have been decided by three or fewer goals.
 

A WIN OVER BROWN WOULD

• Give Cornell an 11-2 record.
• Up its Ivy League mark to 4-1 and keep the Big Red in first place in the Ancient Eight standings.
• Extend its win streak over the Bears to four and its lead in the all-time series to 40-21.
• Give the Big Red a seventh straight home conference win.
• Be the 781st win in program history (780-489-27, .613).
 

SCOUTING BROWN

• The Bears are 7-4 overall (2-2 Ivy) following a dominant 20-13 win over No. 5 Yale in its last outing and has won two consecutive games vs. top 10 teams (12-10 at No. 8 Penn).
• Devon McLane leads a high-scoring offensive squad that averages 13.5 goals per game, pacing the team in goals (35), assists (19) and points (54) with both Darian Cook (21-16-37) and Ryan Aughavin (21-9-30) also surpassing 30 points on the year.
• Face-off specialist Matthew Gunty is winning 53 percent of his starts with a team-high 72 ground balls.
• Defensively, Andrew Geppert (15) and Luke Gaydos (12) have combined to cause 27 turnovers, while goalkeeper Connor Theriault (11.82 GAA, .523 save percentage, 134 saves) has played a majority of the time between the pipes and is the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week.
• Sixth-year Brown head coach Mike Daly previously won three NCAA titles at Tufts.
 

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH

• Connor Buczek '15 (10-2) 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 122 goals and 168 points — he needs one goal to move up to seventh in career goals and six to reach sixth, as well as four more points to jump all the way to eighth 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 15-2 over its past 17 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

• Cornell closes the regular season when it visits No. 3 Princeton on Saturday, April 30 at 12 p.m.
• The Tigers lead the all-time series 42-39-2 and the teams have split the past 12 meetings right down the middle (6-6).