GAME INFORMATION

#5 (6) Rutgers vs. #10 (7) Cornell
DATE/TIME: Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 12:00 p.m.
SITE: Rentschler Field – East Hartford, Conn.
RECORDS: Rutgers 15-3, 4-1 Big Ten / Cornell 13-4 4-2 Ivy League

PURCHASE TICKETS
DIRECTIONS & PARKING
STADIUM INFO
TAILGATING & PARKING INFO (Stadium Guidelines)
Big Red fans, be on the lookout for the Cornell pop-up tents to meet and gather with alumni, family, fans and friends in the tailgating section. The tailgate is BYO, so enjoy your favorite foods and cold beverage with great company before the Big Red takes the field.

BROADCAST TV: ESPN2
BROADCAST INTERNET: ESPN+
RADIO (LOCAL): WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
RADIO (NATIONAL): Westwood One
LIVE STATS: NCAA.com
GAME NOTES
DIGITAL PROGRAM
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell men's lacrosse team will attempt to reach the NCAA Finals for the eighth time in program history when it meets sixth-seeded Rutgers on Saturday, May 28 at 12:00 p.m. in an NCAA semifinal matchup at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. 
• The contest will be televised on ESPN2 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 13-4 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 semifinals for the 14th time after topping Delaware 10-8 on May 22 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio in the quarterfinals.
• The Big Red will be facing the Scarlet Knights for the first time since 1980 and enters the contest with an eight-game win streak in the series (8-1 Cornell lead all-time).
• Inside Lacrosse first-team All-American Gavin Adler has been sensational with the long stick, causing 30 turnovers and winning 61 ground balls, including an impressive 14 caused turnovers and 21 ground ball wins in his past four games — against NCAA qualifiers Princeton, Yale, Ohio State and Delaware.
• A veteran defense featuring fifth-year senior Joseph Bartolotto III (19 caused turnovers, 26 ground balls), graduate student Harrison Bardwell (14 caused turnovers, 44 ground balls), senior Dom Doria (12 caused turnovers, 24 ground balls) and sophomore Jack Follows (three caused turnovers, 11 ground balls) surrenders 11.4 goals per game and has limited opponents to single digits seven times (7-0) this season.
• Cornell has allowed just 16 goals (8.0 per game) in its two NCAA Tournament wins.
• Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Inside Lacrosse honorable mention All-American CJ Kirst is second on the team in points (72), assists (22) and goals (50), and fourth in ground balls (44). He is tied with Jeff Teat's rookie record of 72 from 2017. 
• Senior John Piatelli, the nation's leading goal scorer at 3.53 per game and an Inside Lacrosse Honorable mention All-American, leads the team in goals (60) and ranks among the school's top 10 career goal scorers with 142, fourth on the school's all-time list and two shy of third.
• Kirst and Piatelli, in addition to junior attacker Michael Long (29-31-60), all rank in the top 35 nationally in points per game.
• In goal, Ierlan has at least 10 saves in 13 of his past 16 games and sports an impressive 24-8 career record between the pipes.
• Face-off specialist Angelo Petrakis is winning 49 percent in the circle and leads the team with 104 ground balls, while his 201 face-off wins this season ranks third all-time at Cornell in a single season.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cornell men's lacrosse team wore Delaware down in the fourth quarter, using a giant edge at the face-off circle and forcing three consecutive turnovers on the ride to claim a 10-8 win at Ohio Stadium. 
• After entering the final quarter tied at 7-7, Michael Long scored the go-ahead goal on a broken play after Cornell's ride forced a turnover. 
• It did it again, then again a third time and Spencer Wirtheim cashed in to make it 9-7. 
• A face-off win by Angelo Petrakis allowed the Big Red to put the icing on the cake when John Piatelli found Billy Coyle on the right side, where he dodged two defenders and ripped the 10th goal of the contest into the back of the net.
• Petrakis dominated the face-off circle with a 15-of-19 afternoon and had eight ground balls while scoring his first goal of the season, a rip seven seconds into the second quarter that tied the game at 4-4. 
• Chayse Ierlan made 15 saves and spearheaded a defense that held opponents to single digit goals for the second straight NCAA game.
• Piatelli scored three goals for the Big Red, including two to open the game and give the Big Red an early lead. 
• Michael Long added a goal and two assists and Wirtheim netted a pair of goals. 
• All-America defender Gavin Adler caused two turnovers and was responsible for three ground ball wins. 
• The Big Red held dominant advantages in ground balls (39-25) and face-offs (16-6). 
• Head coach Connor Buczek, who already led the Big Red to a share of an Ivy title and now to the national semifinals, also earned the victory in the return to his home state of Ohio.
 

THE SERIES VS. RUTGERS

First Meeting: 1956    
Overall: Cornell leads, 8-1 (0-0 at neutral sites)
In Overtime: 0-0
Current Streak: Cornell, 8 games
Last Meeting: Cornell, 13-10 (4/27/80 in Piscataway, N.J.)
Buczek vs. Rutgers: 0-0
Series vs. Rutgers: The Cornell/Rutgers rivalry dates back to 1956, when Rutgers won the first-ever meeting 16-7 in Piscataway.
• The teams played seven straight seasons from 1974-80, including twice in 1975, with the Big Red winning all eight contests.
• The two teams met in the 1975 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in Ithaca, with the Big Red earning an 18-5 victory.
 

A WIN OVER RUTGERS WOULD

• Improve Cornell's record to 14-4 in 2022.
• Advance the Big Red to the NCAA final for the eighth time in program history and the first time since 2009.
• Make the Big Red 9-1 all-time against Rutgers and extend its win streak to nine against the Scarlet Knights.
• Improve Cornell's all-time record against Big Ten opponents to 48-56-2, including 4-0 this season.
• Set up Cornell to face the winner of top-seeded Maryland and fifth-seeded Princeton for the program's fourth national title.
• Match the program's largest win total since 2007 with 14 wins (15-1 in 2007).
• Be the 785th win in program history (784-491-27, .613).
 

SCOUTING RUTGERS

• Rutgers is in the NCAA semifinals for the first time in program history and sports a 15-3 record this year after topping Ivy League foes Harvard (19-9) and Penn (11-9) in consecutive tournament games.
• Rutgers finished second to Maryland in the Big Ten with its 4-1 conference record and its three losses have all come to other national semifinalists - twice to Maryland, one to Princeton.
• Senior goalkeeper and captain Colin Kirst has led the program to its first-ever Final Four thanks to 35 saves over the team's first two NCAA games (.660 save percentage). For the season, he's posting a 10.73 goals against average with a .548 save percentage.
• The Scarlet Knights have five different players with at least 40 points with Ross Scott (49-23-72) and Mitch Bartolo (43-17-60) leading the way.
• Ethan Rall has forced 31 turnovers and is second on the squad with 48 ground balls.
• Jonathan Dugenio takes a majority of the team's face-offs and wins at 51 percent while claiming 91 ground balls.
• Rutgers is clearing the ball at better than 91 percent, the top mark in the country.
• Head coach Brian Brecht is in his 10th season directing the Scarlet Knights program and led Rutgers to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004 a year ago and its first-ever trip to the semifinals this season.
 

THE RICHARD M. MORAN HEAD COACH

• Connor Buczek '15 (13-4) 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.
 

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. 1 seed Maryland and No. 5 seed Princeton in the NCAA final on Monday, May 30 at 1 p.m. on ESPN from Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.