GAME INFORMATION

Delaware vs. #10 (7) Cornell
DATE/TIME: Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 12:00 p.m.
SITE: Ohio Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
RECORDS: Delaware 13-5, 3-2 CAA / Cornell 12-4 4-2 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPNU
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) (https://whcuradio.com/)
STATS: NCAA.com
GAME NOTES
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell men's lacrosse team will play for a spot in the Final Four when it faces Delaware on Sunday, May 22 at 12:00 p.m. in an NCAA quarterfinal matchup at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. 
• The contest will be televised on ESPNU and broadcast live on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM with Barry Leonard and Howie Borkan '81 on the call.
• The seventh-seeded Big Red sits 12-4 start and stands No. 10 in the latest USILA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse Media polls after winning a share of its 30th Ivy League regular season title - the most of any school in the Ancient Eight.
• Cornell is making its 29th NCAA Tournament appearance and is in the quarterfinals for the 22nd time after topping Ohio State 15-8 on May 15 at Schoellkopf Field in the first round.
• The Big Red rallied from a 4-0 deficit behind seven goals from Ivy League Rookie of the Year CJ Kirst, matching the Big Red's single-game NCAA record, and 13 saves from goalkeeper Chayse Ierlan, who added the first score by a Big Red netminder since 1990 in the win.
• Kirst is second on the team in points (71), assists (22) and goals (49), and third in ground balls (42). He needs one point to match Jeff Teat's rookie record of 71 from 2017. 
• Senior John Piatelli, the nation's leading goal scorer at 3.56 per game, leads the team in goals (57) and ranks among the school's top 10 career goal scorers with 139, fifth on the school's all-time list and one shy of fourth.
• Kirst and Piatelli, in addition to junior attacker Michael Long (28-29-57), all rank in the top 33 nationally in points per game.
• Inside Lacrosse first-team All-American Gavin Adler has been sensational with the long stick, causing 28 turnovers and winning 58 ground balls, including an incredible 12 caused turnovers and 18 ground ball wins in his past three games — against NCAA qualifiers Princeton, Yale and Ohio State.
• A veteran defense featuring fifth-year senior Joseph Bartolotto III (18 caused turnovers, 23 ground balls), graduate student Harrison Bardwell (13 caused turnovers, 40 ground balls), senior Dom Doria (12 caused turnovers, 23 ground balls) and sophomore Jack Follows (three caused turnovers, eight ground balls) surrenders 11.6 goals per game and has limited opponents to single digits six times (6-0) this season.
• In goal, Ierlan has at least 10 saves in 12 of his past 15 games and sports an impressive 24-8 career record between the pipes.
• Face-off specialist Angelo Petrakis is winning 47 percent in the circle and leads the team with 97 ground balls, while his 186 face-off wins this season ranks fifth all-time at Cornell in a single season.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• A 4-0 deficit. A 90-minute weather delay. The Cornell men's lacrosse weathered both and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 15-8 win over Ohio State at Schoellkopf Field. 
• Sophomore CJ Kirst tied a Cornell single-game NCAA record with seven goals and senior Chayse Ierlan made 13 saves and posted the first score by a Cornell goalkeeper in more than 32 years. 
• Senior John Piatelli had four goals and an assist and All-America defender Gavin Adler caused three turnovers and won five ground balls in his second matchup of the season with Ohio State's All-America attackman Jack Myers. 
• Angelo Petrakis did yeoman's work against Ohio State's Justin Inacio, winning 10-of-23 face-offs and nearly neutralizing the All-America specialist at the x. 
• The Big Red held advantages in shots (43-32) and ground balls (33-23), assisted on 10 of its 15 goals and had eight players register at least one point.
• Myers had two goals and an assist to lead the Buckeyes, with Colby Smith scoring two goals. 
• Inacio won 15-of-25 face-offs with 12 ground balls, while Skylar Wahlund had 14 saves - all coming in the first three quarters.
 

THE SERIES VS. DELAWARE

First Meeting: 1995
Overall: Cornell leads, 2-1 (0-0 at neutral sites)
In Overtime: 0-0
In NCAA play: 0-0
Current Streak: Cornell, 1 game
Last Meeting: Cornell, 16-14 (3/29/1995 in Ithaca, N.Y.)
Buczek vs. Delaware:  0-0
• The two teams met during the 1995 season at Schoellkopf Field with the Big Red earning a 16-14 victory.
• Cornell is 31-8 all-time against current members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) — it holds winning records against Delaware (1-0), Fairfield (2-0), Hofstra (7-2), UMass (16-5) and Towson (4-0).
• The Big Red has never met Drexel on the lacrosse field.
 

A WIN OVER DELAWARE WOULD

• Improve Cornell's record to 13-4 on the season.
• Advance the Big Red to the NCAA semifinals for the 14th time in program history and the first time since 2013.
• Make the Big Red 3-1 all-time against Delaware and 32-8 vs. opponents that currently make up the Colonial Athletic Association.
• Set up Cornell to face the winner of third-seeded Penn and sixth-seeded Rutgers for a chance to play for the program's fourth national title.
• Match the program's largest win total since 2013 (14-4).
• Be the 784th win in program history (783-491-27, .613).
 

SCOUTING DELAWARE

• Delaware, who shared the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season title, enters the quarterfinal game with seven consecutive wins and has held opponents to single digits in each of the past four games.
• The Blue Hens picked off second-seeded Georgetown in the opening round by scoring three goals in the final 3:29, including the game winner by JP Ward with eight seconds remaining for the 10-9 win.
• Ward (40-31-71) is one of three Blue Hens with at least 60 points, joining Mike Robinson (53-14-67) and Tye Kurtz (47-15-62).
• Owen Grant ranks 11th nationally in caused turnovers (33) and has won 47 ground balls while adding six goals and three assists.
• Logan Premtaj is winning 49 percent of his face-offs and paces the squad with 77 ground balls.
• In goal, Matt Kilkeary (10.36 GAA, 122 saves, .529 save percentage) and Paul Reidy (11.62 GAA, 70 saves, .489 save percentage) have each seen significant time between the pipes.
• Former Cornell captain Ben DeLuca '98 spent a decade as assistant and associate head coach before taking over the Big Red program and posting a 37-11 record (16-2 Ivy) with a pair of conference titles.
• Since taking over at Delaware in 2017, DeLuca has led the Blue Hens to a 43-23 record.
 

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH

• Connor Buczek '15 (12-4) 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 139 goals and 185 points — he needs one goal to move up to fourth in career goals, as well four points away from reaching the top five.
• With 372 saves, senior Chayse Ierlan has moved into the top 10 and is 19 away from getting to ninth.
• With his 71 points, sophomore CJ Kirst (49-22-71) ranks second on the list of points by a Big Red rookie, trailing only Jeff Teat in 2017 (33-39-72).
• Dating back to 2020, Cornell is 17-4 over its past 21 games, including an impressive 11-2 away from home.
• Cornell has won 21 straight games when leading after three quarters, including a perfect 11-0 mark this year.
• The Big Red has won 23 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.
 • Cornell and Delaware's first meeting came on March 29, 1995 — a 16-14 Big Red win. Cornell outscored the Blue Hens 7-2 in the fourth to erase a four-goal lead and got an assist and a ground ball win from current Delaware head coach Ben DeLuca '98.
• DeLuca had four ground balls the following year in a 16-14 Delaware victory.
• Both Big Red head coach Connor Buczek and associate head coach Jordan Stevens were recruited by and played two seasons for Ben DeLuca.
• Cornell's 34 NCAA tournament victories ranks seventh all-time, one behind North Carolina.
• Only five teams have more national titles than the Big Red's three (Syracuse 10, Johns Hopkins 9, Virginia 7, Princeton 6, North Carolina 5).
• The 2022 season marks Cornell's 15th trip to the NCAA tournament since 2000, making it to the quarterfinal round 10 times, the semifinals four times and the national championship game once in that span.
 

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.
 

UP NEXT

• With a win, Cornell would meet the winner of No. 3 seed Penn and No. 6 seed Rutgers in the NCAA semifinals on Saturday, May 28 at either noon or 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.