Men's Lacrosse Kicks Off 2023 Slate at UAlbany

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• Cornell looks to get the 2023 campaign off to a strong start when it takes on UAlbany on February 18, 2023.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rich Becker on the call.
• Despite not playing a game yet this season, the Big Red rank #3 in the USILA Poll and #2 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, moving up from their 4th place ranking in each in the preseason.
• The Big Red won the last match up in Albany, but the series record sits at a narrow 5-4 Cornell advantage.
• Cornell returns the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in CJ Kirst, who notched 55 goals and 79 points for the Big Red last year.
• The Big Red boast four preseason All-Americans entering 2023.

THE SERIES 
Overall: Cornell leads 5-4
In Albany, N.Y.: UAlbany leads 1-2
Current Streak: Cornell, three games
Last Meeting: Cornell won 64-63, 1/1/23 in Hanover, N.H.
Buczek vs. UAlbany: 1-0
Series Notes: 

• Cornell holds a narrow 5-4 lead in a series that dates back to 2007. 
• Cornell has won the last three meetings after a four-game skid from 2015-18.
• Cornell head coach Connor Buczek ‘15’s lone game against the Great Danes was a 16-8 victory at Schoellkopf Field, nearly one year ago to the date (Feb. 19, 2022).
  
  A WIN OVER UALBANY WOULD ... 
  • mark the fourth consecutive year the Big Red opened the season with a win.
  • bring the road series against the Great Danes to 2-2 all-time. 
  • be the third consecutive season that the Big Red opened the annual campaign with a win over the Danes.
  • extend its lead in the all-time series against the Big Green to 6-4.
  • mark the fourth-straight Cornell win in the series.
  • be the 789th in program history (788-491-27 in 126 seasons, .603).

LAST TIME OUT: Maryland 9, Cornell 7
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY
• A late-game comeback by the Big Red fell short of the Terrapins, leading to a 9-7 final in the NCAA Championship game in Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn. on May 30, 2022. 
• Anthony DeMaio led Maryland with four goals on the day, all of which came in the first half. 
• Terrapin goalkeeper, and the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Logan McNaney made 17 saves. 
• Logan Wisnauskas scored two for Maryland, and three other Terrapins scored.
• CJ Kirst led the scoring charge for the Big Red, tallying two.
• Michael Long, Aiden Blake, Hugh Kelleher, Spencer Wirtheim, and John Piatelli each also scored. 
• Cornell outscored Maryland 5-2 in the second half, and 4-0 in the fourth quarter alone.

Photos by Dave Burbank, Madison Epperson, Eldon Lindsay, and Darl Zehr.