GAME INFORMATION

#13 Cornell at #5 Princeton
DATE/TIME: Saturday, April 30 , 2022 at 12 p.m.
SITE: Class of 1952 Stadium – Princeton, N.J.
RECORDS: Cornell 10-3, 3-2 Ivy League / Princeton 9-3, 3-2 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) (https://whcuradio.com/)
STATS: GoPrincetonTigers.com
GAME NOTES
 

STORY LINES

• Entering the final game of the regular season, the Cornell men's lacrosse team could come out of the fray with an Ivy title or out of the conference tournament altogether. 
• All scenarios will be possible when the Big Red visits longtime rival Princeton at Class of 1952 Stadium on Saturday, April 30 at 12 p.m. with the winner grabbing a share of the Ancient Eight title.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM with Barry Leonard and Howie Borkan on the call.
• The Big Red sits 10-3 start and stands No. 13 in the latest USILA Coaches and 14th in the Inside Lacrosse Media polls after consecutive losses to teams ranked in the top 15.
• A win over the Tigers would put Cornell into the Ivy League Tournament field, and coupled with a Brown upset loss to Dartmouth would make the Big Red host of the tournament.
• A Cornell loss to Princeton would put the Big Red out of the conference tournament with diminished hopes for an NCAA at-large bid, while a Brown win over Dartmouth eliminates the loser of the game from qualifying for the tourney.
• This weekend's game will be the first for the Big Red since the death of Cornell coaching legend and lacrosse ambassador Richie Moran on Sunday, April 24.  
• Moran guided the Big Red for 29 years, helping the program to three NCAA titles (1971, 1976, 1977), three runner-up finishes (1978, 1987, 1988() and 15 Ivy League titles along with a 257-121 overall mark (124-50 Ivy).
• The three-time national coach of the year guided teams to 42 consecutive victories (an NCAA Division I record) and a conference record 39 straight Ivy victories.
• On offense, a pair of Tewaaraton Trophy candidates pace an offense averaging 13.0 goals per contest.
• Senior John Piatelli leads the team in goals (46) and ranks among the school's top 10 career goal scorers with 127, seventh on the school's all-time list.
• Three-time Ivy League Rookie of the Year CJ Kirst is tied for first on the team in points (59), second in assists (21) and goals (38), and fourth in ground balls (35).
• Inside Lacrosse midseason first-team All-American Gavin Adler has been sensational with the long stick, causing 16 turnovers and winning 40 ground balls.
• A veteran defense featuring senior Ian Jacobs (nine caused turnovers, 26 ground balls), fifth-year seniors Joseph Bartolotto III (18 caused turnovers, 22 ground balls), Dom Doria (11 caused turnovers, 20 ground balls) and graduate student Harrison Bardwell (10 caused turnovers, 33 ground balls) surrenders 11.4 goals per game.
• In goal, Chayse Ierlan has at least 10 saves in nine of his past 12 games and sports an impressive 22-7 career record between the pipes .
• 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 73 ground balls.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cornell men's lacrosse team ended the first quarter with a 6-0 deficit and that was nearly enough for Brown goalkeeper Connor Theriault as the 14th-ranked Bears topped the Big Red 13-8 at Schoellkopf Field. 
• Brown's Theriault made 24 saves, including 14 in the second half, to allow the Bears to spoil Cornell's Senior Day despite being out-shot 56-36. 
• Brian Antonelli and Devon McLane each had four goals and an assist to lead the Brown offense. 
• Matthew Gunty won 10-of-24 face-offs and secured five ground balls for the Bears.
• John Piatelli scored five goals and Michael Long had a goal and two assists in the loss to pace the offense, with the senior attackman adding seven ground balls. 
• Angelo Petrakis won 13-of-23 face-offs to win possessions, while both Harrison Bardwell and Dom Doria had a pair of caused turnovers for the Big Red defense. 
• Chayse Ierlan made 15 saves for Cornell in goal.
• Brown was efficient on offense, putting 28 of its 36 shots on goal, and Theriault had at least five saves in each quarter, including on the first seven shots the Big Red put on goal. 
• It was 6-0 after the first quarter, and despite the Big Red clawing within 6-4 at the break, it would get no closer.
 

THE SERIES VS. PRINCETON

First Meeting: 1922
Overall: Princeton leads, 42-39-2 (21-16-2 in Princeton)
In Overtime: Princeton leads, 3-2
Current Streak: Cornell, 1 game
Last Meeting: Cornell, 14-13 (4/27/2019 in Ithaca)
Longest Cornell streak: 22 games 
Longest Princeton streak: 17 games
Series vs. Princeton: Princeton dominated the first 25 meetings, winning or tying all but one contest, to help it to a 42-39-2 record in the all-time series.
• Cornell won 22-straight games vs. the Tigers from 1968 to 1989, but Princeton is still the only Ivy League team to boast a winning record against the Big Red, as they again dominated the series throughout the 1990s. 
• Cornell has won 13 of the last 20.
• Three of the past four meetings between the teams have been decided by a single goal. 
 

A WIN OVER PRINCETON WOULD

• Give Cornell an 11-3 record.
• Claim a share of the program's 30th Ivy League title, the most by any school.
• Qualify Cornell for the Ivy League Tournament as one of the top two seeds (No. 1 with a Brown loss to Dartmouth, No. 2 if Brown defeats the Big Green).
• Narrow the Tigers' lead in the all-time series to 42-40-2 with its second consecutive victory.
• Be Cornell's first win at Princeton against the Tigers since 2010, snapping a three-game skid.
• Be the 781st win in program history (780-490-27, .612).
 

SCOUTING PRINCETON

• Princeton is one of the teams that enters the final weekend tied for first in the Ivy League (3-2) and is a win away from its 28th conference crown while sporting a 9-3 record.
• The Tigers possess the conference's top-scoring offense at 15.7 goals per game and has surpassed 20 goals three times.
• Chris Brown (28-33-61) and Alex Slusher (40-6-46) are among five players that have scored at least 30 points.
• Four different Tigers have registered double digit caused turnovers, with George Baughan (15) and Andrew Song (15) leading the way for a defense that has the conference's second-lowest goals against average (11.19).
• Tyler Sandoval is the team's primary face-off man and has won 53 percent of the re-starts (153-of-289).
• Erik Peters has started all 12 games for Princeton and sports an 11.37 goals against average and a .556 save percentage between the pipes.
• Ninth-year head coach Matt Madalon sports a 41-23 career record and a win over the big Red would give him a share of his first Ivy title.
 

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH

• Connor Buczek '15 (10-3) 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

• Entering the weekend, either Cornell (29) or Princeton (27) will add to their all-time Ivy title  hauls and will share the title with the winner of the Yale-Harvard game and potentially Brown (if it beats Dartmouth).
• Senior John Piatelli enters the weekend with 127 goals and 173 points — he needs one goal to move up to sixth in career goals and nine to reach the top five, as well as two more points to jump all the way to seventh in that category and six to move into sixth.
• With 330 saves, senior Chayse Ierlan needs 15 more to reach the school's top 10 chart.
• With his 59 points, freshman CJ Kirst (38-21-59) ranks third and climbing on the list of points by a Big Red freshman, behind only Rob Pannell in 2009 (25-42-67) and Jeff Teat in 2017 (33-39-72).
• Dating back to 2020, Cornell is 15-3 over its past 18 games, including an impressive 10-1 away from home.
• Cornell has won 19 straight games when leading after three quarters, including a perfect 9-0 mark this year.
• 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

• If the Big Red qualifies, it will compete at the 2022 Ivy League Tournament on Friday, May 6 at the home of the highest seed. 
• Cornell would play in the semifinals at either 6 or 8 p.m. with both games being televised on ESPNU.